nnl 


HOMEMADE 
CONTR  /  FAN  CES 


For  FARM  and  GARDEN, 
DAIRY  and  WORKSHOP 


How  to  Make  Over  1000  Handy  Appliances  and 

Labor-Saving  Devices 

Needed  on  the  Farm  or  About  the  Buildings 

Including  racks,  mangers,  stanchions  and  troughs  ;  vehicles/ 
rollers,  small  tools,  barn  appliances,  wells,  pumps, 
stump  pullers,  etc.  Useful  conveniences 
for  making  easier  all  kinds  of  work 
about  the  farm,  in  garden  or 
orchard,  with  live 
stock,  etc. 


zfj2  Illustrations 


ORANGE  JUDD  COMPANY 
Chicago,  Ill.  New  York,  N.  Y.  Springfield,  Mass. 

I9°5 


(. Frontispiece .)  A  MILKING  SHED.— SEE  PAGE  210 


FARM 

CONVENIENCES 


A  PRACTICAL  HAND-BOOK  FOR 
THE  FARM. 


TWO  HUNDRED  AND  TWELVE  IT -LUST RATION S 


NEW  YORK: 

ORANGE  JUDD  COMPANY 

1906 


Sintered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  18  '4,  by  Cu. 
ORANGE  JUDD  COMPANY, 
in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington 


AT 

zys- 

07 


PREFACE. 


Skill  in  the  construction  and  use  of  simple  labor- 
saving  devices  is  of  vast  importance  to  the  farmer,  and 
any  aid  to  the  development  of  this  manual  dexterity  is 
always  very  welcome. 

The  volume,  herewith  presented,  abounds  in  valuable 
hints  and  suggestions  for  the  easy  and  rapid  construction 
of  a  large  number  of  home-made  contrivances  within  the 
reach  of  all.  It  is  an  every-day  hand-book  of  farm 
work,  and  contains  the  best  ideas  gathered  from  the  ex¬ 
perience  of  a  score  of  practical  men  in  all  departments 
of  farm  labor.  Every  one  of  the  two  hundred  and  forty 
pages,  and  two  hundred  and  twelve  engravings,  teaches 
a  valuable  lesson  in  rural  economy.  “Farm  Conven¬ 
iences  ”  is  a  manual  of  what  to  do,  and  how  to  do  it 
quickly  and  readily. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Bin  for  Oats . 0 

Fastenings  for  Cows . 10 

Nests,  Movable,  for  Hens . . .  11 

Straw,  How  to  get  Hid  of . .  13 

Bulls,  Young,  The  Management  of . . .  .• .  15 

Ice-Hook,  A  Convenient . . . 17 

Workshop,  Hints  for  the. . .  17 

Barrel-Header,  A .  19 

Boats,  Building  Ribless .  21 

Tug,  To  Mend  a  Broken . . .  24 

Hay  Racks . 27 

Mired  Animal,  Extricating . 29 

Grinding  Tools .  33 

Hanging  Hogs,  Method  of .  34 

Bog  Spavin,  Relief  for .  35 

Tool  Boxes  for  Wagons .  36 

Hinge,  Making  a . . . . . . . . .  38 

Shelter  for  the  Head .  40 

Level  with  Square  and  Plumb  Line .  41 

Cattle,  Keep  under  Cover .  42 

Watering  Places  for  Stock . 43 

Shaving-Horse,  A .  44 

Milking-Stool,  A .  45 

Trap,  A  Locust . 47 

Manure  Spreading .  49 

Tools,  Putting  Away .  51 

Doors,  Self-Closing .  52 

Ventilators  for  Fodder  Stacks .  53 

Corn  Marker  for  Uneven  Ground .  55 

Harrow,  A  Home-Made . 56 

Land  Clearing  by  Blasting .  57 

Losses,  Preventable  on  the  Farm . 62 

Cradle  for  Drawing  a  Boat . 64 

Feed  Rack  for  Sheep . . . . . . .  65 

Night-Soil,  How  to  Manage .  66 

Trough,  A  Water  and  Feed . 69 

Stalls,  The  Construction  of .  70 

Hog  Killing  Implements, — Ringing . 72 

Cement,  How  to  Mix .  74 

Bulls,  Ringing  and  Handling .  78 

Sled  for  Removing  Corn  Shocks .  81 

Trough,  A  Tagging .  82 

Lime  and  Lime  Kilns  . . . . 82 

Corn,  Unloading . 87 

Stone  Boats . 88 

Dump  Cart,  A. . 89 


contents. 


PAGE 

Washing  of  Hill-Sides,  To  Prevent .  90 

Mink-Trap,  A  Log . 92 

Plowing  From  Inside  of  Field . „  „ .  93 

Wire  Fence  Tightener .  95 

Planting  Corn,  A  Marker .  96 

Feed  Trough  and  Halter . . .  99 

Scow,  How  to  Make  a  Fishing .  101 

Flood  Fence . 107 

Clearing  Slough  Land . 107 

How  to  Dress  a  Beef . . .  109 

Farm  Cart . . . . Ill 

Gate  Post  Braces . 113 

Whipple-Trees  for  Plowing  Com . 114 

Fastening  for  Mill  Leg . 116 

Hitching  a  Crib-Biter . 119 

Vegetable  Matter,  How  to  Increase  in  Soil . 120 

Open  Links .  121 

Trap  for  Sheep-Killing  Dogs. . .  123 

How  to  Use  a  File  Properly .  126 

Manure  Harvest,  The . 130 

Fastening  Cattle  with  Bows .  131 

Nest  for  Egg-Eating  Hens . 135 

Plowing  Gear  for  a  Kicking  Mule . 136 

Fork,  A  Leaf . 137 

Nail,  Horse-Shoe,  How  to  Drive . 139 

Screw-Drivers . 140 

Prevent  Cows  Sucking  Themselves . 142 

Hay  Rack  and  Manger .  145 

Basket,  A  Barn . 145 

Cows  Kicking,  Treatment  of . . . 146 

Boat-House,  How  to  Build . 147 

Waste  Lands,  Make  Them  Useful .  149 

A  Rat  Guard . 150 

A  Crupper-Pad  for  Horses . 151 

Dam  for  a  Fish  Pond . 152 

A  Wagon  Jack .  154 

Brace  for  a  Kicking  Horse .  156 

How  to  Save  Liquid  Manure .  157 

An  Open  Shed  for  Feeding . 159 

Shade  for  Horses’  Eyes . 160 

A  Field  Roller . 163 

Portable  Slop  Barrel . 163 

Where  and  How  to  Apply  Fertilizers . . .  164 

Mill  for  Crushing  Bones . 165 

Farm  Wheelbarrow . 168 

Balling  of  Horses’  Feet,  To  Prevent . 169 

Cattle  Throwing  Fences,  To  Prevent .  170 

Feed  Boxes .  171 

A  Cattle  Tie . 173 

A  Beef  Raiser . . . 174 

Cedar  Stem  Soil-Stirrer . .  . .  175 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Hint  for  Pig-Killing . 176 

Mending  Broken  Tools .  176 

A  Large  Feed-Rack .  178 

Barn  Door  Fastening .  179 

Fork  Stable  Scraper . 180 

Caring  Hay,  Method  of . 181 

Granary  Conveniences . 182 

Non-Slipping  Chain  for  Boulders . 184 

Pitchfork  Holder .  185 

Hog  Loader,  A  Convenient. . . 186 

Land  Scraper .  187 

Bag-Holder,  A  Home-Made . . .  189 

Egg-Carrier,  A  Safety . . . 190 

Brush-Holder,  A . . .  192 

Brood  Sow  Pens .  193 

Rabbit-Trap,  A . 194 

Wooden  Stable  Floor . 195 

Holder  or  “  Grip  ”  for  Rails .  197 

Grindstone-Box  and  Hangers . i .  199 

Corn  Loader .  200 

Drains,  Protecting  Outlets  of .  201 

Log  Boat,  A . 202 

Wagon  Seats,  Cheap .  203 

Bag-Holder  on  Platform  Scales . 204 

Drains,  Making  Board .  206 

Place  for  Tools .  207 

Water-Spout  and  Stock-Trough .  209 

Shed,  A  Desirable  Milking .  210 

Wear  Plate  for  Harness  Tugs .  211 

Fence,  Portable  Water . 212 

Ditch  Cleaner  and  Deepener . 212 

Dam,  How  to  Build .  214 

Hop  Poles,  How  to  Drive . 215 

Grain  Box,  A  Convenient . 216 

Road-Scraper,  A .  217 

Root  Crops,  Aids  in  Digging .  218 

Swinging-Stall  Fronts .  221 

Corn  Fodder,  Save  All  Everywhere. . .  222 

Brush  Rake,  Improved .  223 

Muck  and  Peat,  Digging .  225 

Cleaner  for  Horses’  Hoofs .  226 

Shelter  for  Stock  in  Cold  Weather .  226 

Troughs,  Good  Stone .  227 

Lambs,  Artificial  Feeding  of .  229 

Bailed  Box,  A  Convenient .  230 

Cart,  Cheap  Ensilage .  232 

Hurdle,  A  Revolving  Sheep .  234 

Nest  for  Setting  Hens .  236 

Barn-Yard  Economy. . . 237 

Shed,  A  Cheap  Manure .  238 

Rack,  A  Sheep . . . 239 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


A  CONVENIENT  BIN  FOR  OATS. 

The  usual  receptacle  for  oats,  corn,  or  mill  feed,  or 
other  grain  for  domestic  animals,  is  a  common  bin  or 
box  about  four  feet  in  hight.  It  is  difficult  to  get  the 
grain  out  of  such  a  place  when  the  quantity  is  half  or 
more  exhausted.  To  obviate  this  inconvenience,  there 
may  be  affixed,  about  one  foot  from  the  bottom  on  one 
side  of  the  bin,  a  board,  ( B )  figure  1.  This  is  nailed  so 
as  to  project  into  the  bin  at  an  angle  sufficient  to  allow 
the  filling  of  a  measure  between  the  lower  edge  of  board 
B  and  top  edge  of  the  opening  at  M.  The  opposite 
lower  side  of  the  bin  is  covered  with  boards,  as  indicated 


Fig.  1. — A  BIN  FOK  OATS  OK  OTHEK  FEED. 


by  the  dotted  line  at  R,  for  the  purpose  of  placing  the 
contents  within  easy  reach.  The  top  can  be  completed 
with  hinged  cover  as  well  as  the  delivery  space.  By 

1* 


JO 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


using  a  bin  of  this  form,  tlie  last  bushel  is  as  easily  re¬ 
moved  as  the  first  one. 


FASTENINGS  FOR  COWS. 

Although  stanchions  are  really  the  safest  fastening 
for  cows,  yet  some  persons  object  to  them  because  the 
animals  are  held  in  a  too  confined  position,  and  one 
which  is  supposed  to  be  painful,  or  otherwise  objection¬ 
able  to  the  cows.  Most  owners  of  valuable  cows  consider 
safety  to  be  the  first  requisite  in  their  management,  and 
the  question  as  to  what  the  cow  would  like  as  of  minor 
importance.  Stanchions  have  the  valuable  recommen¬ 
dation  that  one  always  finds  his  cows  in  the  morning  just 
where  they  were  left  at  night,  if  they  have  been  properly 
secured.  Nevertheless,  for  those  who  dislike  stanchions, 
there  are  other  safe  ways  of  fastening  cows.  For  some 
years  we  used  the  method  shown  in  figures  2  and  3.  In 


Fig.  2. — FASTENING  BY  SLIDING  KING  ON  A  POLE 


the  first  a  strong  smooth  pole  was  inserted  through  the 
floor  and  “  stepped  99  into  the  beam  beneath  and  into  the 
floor  above.  It  was  also  fastened  by  an  iron  strap  bolted 
through  the  front  of  the  trough.  A  steel  ring  to  which 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


11 


a  steel  chain  was  attached  was  made  to  slide  up  and 
down  upon  the  post,  and  a  leather  neck  strap,  or,  in  some 
cases,  a  leather  head  stall,  was  attached  to  the  chain  by 
a  suitable  ring  or  loop.  The  ring  could  not  fall  so  low 
as  the  floor,  being  held  by  the  edge  of  the  feed-trough, 
and  the  cow’s  feet  could  not,  therefore,  be  entangled  in 
the  chain  by  getting  over  it.  This  is  the  chief  danger 
in  the  use  of  neck  straps  and  chains,  but  it  may  be  avoid¬ 
ed  in  this  way.  Another  plan  is  to  have  an  iron  rod 
bolted  to  the  feed-trough,  upon  which  the  ring  may  slide. 
This  is  equally  secure,  and  gives  more  room  for  move¬ 
ment  to  the  cow.  With  these  ring-ties  it  is  best  to  have 


Fig.  3. — FASTENING  ATTACHED  TO  FEED-TKOUGH. 


short  stalls  to  prevent  the  cows  interfering  with  each 
other,  else  one  of  them  may  step  on  to  another  as  it  is 
lying  down.  The  teats  are  sometimes  injured  even  when 
stanchions  are  used,  but  the  danger  of  this  is  greater 
with  chain  ties. 

MOVABLE  NESTS  FOE  HENS. 

Hens,  as  a  general  thing,  are  remarkably  self-willed 
and  obstinate.  Perhaps  an  exception  may  be  made  as 


12 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


regards  the  Brahmas,  which  are  very  docile  and  easily 
managed.  On  account  of  this  general  peculiarity  of 
fowls,  many  people  who  possess  a  somewhat  similar  dis¬ 
position,  find  no  success  in  keeping  them.  Their  hens 
will  not  lay  in  the  nests  provided  for  them,  or  after  sit¬ 
ting  a  few  days  upon  a  nest  of  eggs,  leave  them  and 
never  return.  The  consequences  are,  either  no  eggs  at 
all,  or  nests  hidden  where  they  cannot  be  reached  ;  no 
chickens,  and  time  and  labor  lost.  This  may  all  be 
avoided  if  the  owners  will  only  study  the  habits  and  in¬ 
stincts  of  their  poultry  reasonably.  One  of  the  most 
inveterate  habits  of  hens  is  that  of  hiding  their  nests,  or 
seeking  them  in  retired,  shaded  places.  Those  who  would 
have  plenty  of  eggs  must  make  their  arrangements  ac¬ 
cordingly.  A  very  cheap  and  convenient  nest  is  shown 
in  figure  4.  It  is  made  of  pieces  of  board  eighteen 


Fig.  4. — A  MOVABLE  HEN’S  NEST. 


inches  long,  nailed  endwise  to  three-sided  cleats  at  the 
top  and  bottom.  The  box  need  not  be  more  than  eight¬ 
een  or  twenty  inches  in  length.  Some  corner  pieces 
are  nailed  at  the  front  to  make  it  firm,  and  the  back 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


Vd 

should  be  closed.  These  nests  may  be  placed  in  secluded 
corners,  behind  sheds,  or  beneath  bushes  in  the  back 
yard,  or  behind  a  barrel  or  a  bundle  of  straw.  The 
nest  egg  should  be  of  glass  or  porcelain,  and  every  even¬ 
ing  the  eggs  that  have  been  laid  during  the  day  should 
be  removed.  A  little  cut  straw  mixed  with  clean  earth 
or  sand,  will  make  the  best  material  for  the  nest.  This 
should  be  renewed  occasionally,  for  the  sake  of  cleanli¬ 
ness.  When  a  hen  has  taken  possession  of  one  of  these 
nests,  it  may  be  removed  at  night  to  the  hatching-house, 
without  disturbing  her.  Before  the  nests  are  used,  they 
should  be  thoroughly  well  lime-washed  around  the 
joints,  to  keep  away  lice. 


HOW  TO  GET  RID  OF  STRAW. 

Many  farmers  in  “  the  West,”  and  some  in  what  we 
call  “the  East,”  are  troubled  as  to  what  they  shall  do 
with  the  piles  of  straw  which  lie  about  their  fields. 
"Upon  the  same  farms  with  these  nearly  useless  straw 
piles,  many  head  of  stock  are  kept,  and  many  more 
might  be  kept,  which  could  be  made  useful  in  reducing 
the  straw  to  a  condition  in  which  it  would  serve  as 
manure.  If  the  already  urgent  necessity  for  manure 
upon  the  western  and  southern  fields  were  realized,  there 
vould  be  little  hesitation  in  taking  measures  to  remove 
die  difficulty.  The  chief  obstacle  is,  that  these  involve 
either  personal  or  hired  labor  ;  the  first  is  objectionable 
to  many,  and  the  second  cannot  be  had  for  want  of  the 
money  necessary  to  pay  for  it.  The  least  laborious 
method  of  using  this  straw  and  making  it  serve  the 
double  purpose  of  a  shelter  for  stock  and  a  fertilizer  for 
the  field  upon  which  it  has  been  grown,  is  as  follows  : 
Some  poles  are  set  in  the  ground,  and  rails  or  othei 


14 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


poles  are  laid  upon  them  so  as  to  form  a  sloping  roof. 
This  is  made  near  or  around  the  place  chosen  for  thrash¬ 
ing  the  grain.  The  straw  from  the  thrashing-machine 
is  heaped  upon  the  rails*  making  a  long  stack,  which 
forms  three  sides  of  a  square,  with  the  open  side  towards 
the  south*  and  leaving  a  space  beneath  it  in  which  cattle 
may  be  sheltered  from  storms.  In  this  enclosure  some 
rough  troughs  or  racks  may  be  placed,  from  which  to 
feed  corn.  Here  the  cattle  will  feed  and  lie,  or  will  lie 
at  nights  under  shelter*  while  feeding  during  the  day 
upon  corn  in  the  field.  As  the  straw  that  is  given  them 
becomes  trampled  and  mixed  with  the  droppings*  a 
further  supply  is  thrown  down  from  the  stack.  The 
accumulation  may  be  removed  and  spread  upon  the  field 
to  be  plowed  in  when  it  is  so  required*  and  the  stakes 
pulled  up  and  carried  to  another  place*  where  they  may 
be  needed  for  the  same  purpose.  Such  a  shelter  as  this 
would  be  very  serviceable  for  the  purpose  of  making 
manure*  even  where  straw  is  scarce,  as  in  parts  of  the 
Southern  States.  There  pine  boughs  may  be  made  to 
serve  as  a  covering*  and  leaves,  pine  straw*  dry  pond 
muck,  swamp  muck,  “  trash  ”  from  cotton  fields,  corn 
stalks,  or  pea  vines,  and  any  other  such  materials  may  be 
gathered  and  thrown  from  time  to  time  beneath  the 
cattle.  Cotton-seed  meal,  straw*  and  coarse  hay  would 
keep  stock  In  excellent  order,  and  although  there  may 
be  little  snow  or  ice  during  the  winter  months  in  those 
States,  yet  the  animals  will  be  very  much  better  for  even 
this  rude  but  comfortable  shelter.  In  many  other  places 
such  a  temporary  arrangement  will  be  found  useful  in 
saving  the  hauling  of  straw*  stalks,  or  hay  from  distant 
fields,  and  the  carting  of  manure  back  again  to  them. 
It  will  be  found  vastly  easier  to  keep  a  few  young  cattle 
in  such  a  field,  and  go  thither  daily  to  attend  to  them 
during  the  winter  when  work  is  not  pressing,  than 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


15 


haul  many  loads  of  hay  or  straw  to  the  barn  at  harvest 
time,  or  many  loads  of  manure  in  the  busy  weeks  of 
spring. 


THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  YOUNG  BULLS. 

Many  farmers  want  a  method  of  disciplining  bulls  so 
that  they  may  be  made  more  docile  and  manageable. 
To  do  this  it  would  be  advisable  to  work  them  occasion¬ 
ally  in  a  one-horse  tread  power.  They  should  be  used 
to  this  when  young,  and  thus  being  made  amenable  to 
restraint,  there  will  be  no  “  breaking  ”  needed  afterwards 
and  consequently  no  trouble.  We  have  used  a  Jersey 
bull  in  a  tread-power  in  which  he  worked  with  more 
steadiness  than  a  horse,  and  twice  a  week  he  served  a 
very  useful  purpose  in  cutting  the  fodder  for  the  stock. 
Nothing  more  was  needed  than  to  lead  him  by  a  rope 
from  the  nose-ring  into  the  tread-power,  and  tie  him 
short  so  that  he  could  not  get  too  far  forward.  He  was 
very  quiet,  not  at  all  mischievous,  and  was  a  very  sure 
stock  bull ;  and  besides  this,  the  value  of  his  work  was 
at  least  equal  to  the  cost  of  his  keep.  Where  there  is  no 
tread-power,  a  substitute  may  be  found  in  the  arrange¬ 
ment  shown  in  figure  5.  Set  a  post  in  the  barn -yard,  bore 
a  hole  in  the  top,  and  drive  a  two-inch  iron  pin  into  the 
hole.  Take  the  wheel  of  a  wagon  that  has  an  iron  axle, 
and  set  it  upon  the  top  of  the  post  so  that  it  will  turn  on 
the  pin  as  on  an  axle.  Fasten  a  strong  pole  (such  as  a 
binding  pole  for  a  hay  wagon)  by  one  end  to  the  wheel, 
and  bore  two  holes  in  the  other  end,  large  enough  to 
take  the  arms  of  an  ox-bow  in  them.  Fix  a  light-elastic 
rod  to  the  wheel,  so  that  the  end  will  be  in  advance  of 
the  end  of  the  larger  pole.  Yoke  the  bull  to  the  pole, 
and  tie  the  nose-ring  to  the  end  of  the  elastic  rod,  in  such 
a  way  that  a  slight  pull  is  exerted  upon  the  ring.  Then 


16 


FARM  APPLIANCES 


Fig.  5. — MAN  NEK  OE  EXERCISING  A  BULL. 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


17 


lead  the  bull  around  a  few  times  until  he  gets  used  to  it ; 
he  will  then  travel  in  the  ring  alone  until  he  is  tired, 
when  he  will  stop.  Two  hours  of  this  exercise  a  day 
will  keep  a  bull  in  good  temper,  good  condition  and 
excellent  health. 

A  CONVENIENT  ICE-HOOK, 

A  very  handy  ice-hook  may  be  made  as  shown  m  fig¬ 
ure  6.  The  handle  is  firmly  fastened  and  keyed  into  a 
socket;  at  the  end  are  two  sharply- 
pointed  spikes,  one  of  which 
serves  to  push  pieces  of  ice,  and 
the  other  to  draw  them  to  the 
shore,  or  out  of  the  water,  to  be 
loaded  and  removed.  It  may  be 
made  of  light  iron,  horse-shoe 
bar  will  be  heavy  enough,  and 
there  is  no  need  to  have  the  Fig.  6.— ice-hook. 
points  steeled ;  it  will  be  sufficient  if  they  are  chilled, 
after  they  are  sharpened,  in  salt  and  ice  pounded  to¬ 
gether. 


HINTS  FOR  THE  WORKSHOP. 

A  grindstone  is  very  seldom  kept  in  good  working  or¬ 
der  ;  generally  it  is  “  out  of  true,”  as  it  is  called,  or  worn 
out  of  a  perfectly  circular  shape.  A  new  stone  is  fre¬ 
quently  hung  so  that  it  does  not  run  “true,”  and  the 
longer  it  is  used,  the  worse  it  becomes.  When  this  is 
the  case,  it  may  be  brought  into  a  circular  shape  by 
turning  it  down  with  a  worn-out  mill-file.  It  is  very 
difficult  to  do  this  perfectly  by  hand,  but  it  is  easily  done 
by  the  use  of  the  contrivance  shown  in  figure  7.  A  post, 
slotted  in  the  upper  part,  is  bolted  to  the  frame.  A 


18 


FABM  COHVEKIEKCES. 


piece  of  hard  wood,  long  enough  to  reach  over  the 
frame,  is  pivoted  in  the  slot.  This  should  be  made  twro 
inches  wider  than  the  stone,  and  be  pivoted,  so  that  an 
opening  can  be  made  in  the  middle  of  it,  of  the  same 
width  as  the  stone.  This  opening  is  made  with  sloping 
ends,  so  that  a  broad  mill-file  may  be  wedged  into  it  in 
the  same  manner  as  a  plane-iron  is  set  in  a  plane.  At 
the  opposite  end  of  the  frame  a  second  post  is  bolted  to 


Fig.  7.— TRUEING  A  GRINDSTONE. 


it.  A  long  slot,  or  a  series  of  holes,  is  made  in  the  lower 
part  of  this  post,  so  that  it  may  be  raised  or  lowered  at 
pleasure  by  sliding  it  up  or  down  upon  the  bolt.  If  a 
slot  is  made,  a  washer  is  used  with  the  bolt ;  this  will 
make  it  easy  to  set  the  post  at  any  desired  height.  It 
should  be  placed  so  that  the  upper  piece  of  wood  may 
rest  upon  it,  exactly  in  the  same  position  in  which  the 
file  will  be  brought  into  contact  with  the  stone.  A 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


19 


weight  is  laid  upon  the  upper  piece  to  keep  it  down,  and 
"hold  the  cutter  upon  the  stone.  When  the  stone  is 
turned  around  slowly,  the  uneven  parts  are  cut  away, 
while  those  which  do  not  project  beyond  the  proper  line 
of  the  circumference  are  not  touched. 

A  Grinding  Frame  to  hold  tools  is  shown  in  figure  8. 


Fig.  8. — HOLDER  FOR  TOOLS. 


It  is  made  of  light  pieces  of  pine,  or  hard  wood.  The 
tool  to  be  ground  is  fastened  to  the  cross-piece.  A 
sharp  point,  a  nail,  or  a  screw,  is  fastened  to  the  nar¬ 
row  end  of  the  frame,  and,  when  in  use,  the  point  is 
stuck  into  the  wall  of  the  shed,  which  forms  a  rest. 


A  N ON-PATENTED  BARREL-HEADER. 

Not  long  since  we  saw  in  operation  a  useful  contriv¬ 
ance  for  pressing  the  heads  of  apple  or  egg  barrels  into 
place.  Both  apples  and  eggs  require  to  be  packed  very 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


£0 

firmly  to  enable  them  to  be  transported  in  barrels  with 
safety.  Apples  loosely  packed  in  a  barrel  will  come  to 
market  in  a  very  badly  bruised  condition,  and  if  the 
packing  around  eggs  is  not  very  firmly  compressed,  the 
eggs  and  packing  change  places  or  get  mixed  up,  and  it 
is  the  eggs,  and  not  the  packing,  which  then  suffers.  A 
barrel  of  eggs  properly  packed,  with  layers  of  chaff  oi 
oats  an  inch  thick  between  the  layers  of  eggs,  and  three 
inches  at  each  end  of  the  barrel,  will  bear  to  be  com¬ 
pressed  as  much  as  three  inches  with  safety;  without 
this  compression,  eggs  are  almost  sure  to  be  greatly 
damaged.  A  barrel  of  apples  may  fill  the  barrel  to 
about  two  inches  above  the  chime,  and  will  bear  to 
have  the  head  brought  down  to  its  place.  When  barrels 
containing  these  perishable  articles  are  thus  packed  they 
may  receive  very  rough  usage  without  injury  to  the  con¬ 
tents.  The  header  referred  to  con¬ 
sists  of  a  bar  of  half -inch  square 
iron  rod,  with  a  large  eye  or  loop 
at  one  end,  and  at  the  other  end 
two  diverging  hooks  which  grasp 
the  bottom  of  the  barrel.  The  bar 
is  bent  to  fit  the  curve  of  the  bar¬ 
rel.  When  in  use,  the  hooks  are 
placed  beneath  the  lower  chime  of 
the  barrel,  one  end  of  a  short  lever 
„  is  placed  in  the  eye,  and  the  lever 

Fig.  9. — BARREL-HEADER.  r  ^  . 

rests  upon  a  block,  whicfi  is  set 
upon  the  head  of  a  barrel  properly  placed  in  position. 
A  strap  or  cord,  with  a  loop  or  stirrup  at  one  end,  is 
fastened  to  the  other  end  of  the  lever.  The  foot  is 
placed  in  the  loop  or  stirrup,  and  the  weight  of  the  body 
thrown  upon  it  brings  the  head  of  the  barrel  into  its 
place;  the  hands  being  free,  the  hoops  can  be  driven  down 
tightly  without  the  help  of  an  assistant.  Without  the 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


21 


use  of  the  cord  aud  stirrup,  two  persons  are  required  to 
head  barrels,  but  with  the  aid  of  these  the  services  of 
one  can  be  dispensed  with. 


BUILDING  RIBLESS  BOATS. 

A  method  of  building  boats,  by  which  ribs  are  dis¬ 
pensed  with,  has  recently  been  brought  into  use  for 
coast,  lake,  and  river  crafts.  These  boats  are  light, 
swift,  strong,  and  cheap.  They  have  been  found  to  be 
remarkably  good  sea  boats,  and  to  stand  rough  weathei 
without  shipping  water.  By  this  method  of  building, 
fishermen  and  others  who  use  boats  can  construct  their 
own  at  their  leisure,  and  in  many  cases  become  inde¬ 
pendent  of  the  skill  of  the  professional  boat  builder. 
The  materials  needed  are  clear  pine  boards,  one  inch 
thick,  a  keel  of  oak  or  elm,  a  stem  and  stern-post 
of  the  same  timber,  and  some  galvanized  iron  nails. 
For  small  boats  the  boards  and  keel  should  be  the 
whole  length  of  the  boat  intended  to  be  built ;  for 
boats  over  sixteen  feet  in  length,  splices  may  be 
made  without  injuring  the  strength,  if  they  are  prop¬ 
erly  put  together.  The  materials  having  been  pro¬ 
cured,  a  frame  or  a  set  of  tressels  are  made,  and  the  keel 
is  fitted  to  them  in  the  usual  manner,  by  means  of 
cleats  on  each  side,  and  wedges.  The  stem  and  stern- 
post  are  then  fitted  to  the  keel  in  the  usual  manner,  the 
joints  being  made  water-tight  by  means  of  layers  of 
freshly-tarred  brown  paper  laid  between  the  pieces,  or 
by  the  use  of  a  coating  of  thick  white  lead  and  oik 
Previously  to  being  fitted  together,  the  sides  of  the  keel, 
stem,  and  stern-post  are  deeply  grooved  to  receive  the 
first  strip  of  planking.  The  boards  are  then  ripped  into 
strips  one  inch,  or  an  inch  and  a  half  wide,  according 
to  the  desired  strength  of  the  boat.  Por  rough  work, 


FARM  CONVENIENCES, 


FAKM  CONVENIENCES. 


23 


such  as  fishing  with  nets,  or  dredging,  an  inch  and  a 
half  would  be  a  proper  width  for  the  strips.  The  rip¬ 
ping  may  be  done  with  one  of  the  hand  circular  sawing 
machines,  or  at  a  saw-mill,  with  great  rapidity.  The 
first  strip  is  then  nailed  to  the  keel,  a  coating  of  tar  or 
white  lead  having  first  been  given  to  the  groove  in  the 
keel  already  prepared  for  it.  The  broad  side  of  the 
strip  is  laid  next  to  the  keel.  A  set  of  molds,  corre¬ 
sponding  to  the  lines  or  form  of  the  boat,  are  cut  out  of 
inch  boards,  and  tacked  to  the  keel  in  the  manner  shown 
in  figure  10,  with  the  help  of  cleats  upon  each  side. 
Then  one  strip  after  another  is  nailed  to  each  preceding- 
one,  and  the  shell  of  the  boat  is  built  up  of  these  strips. 
Each  strip  is  trimmed  down  at  the  ends  in  a  proper 
manner,  with  a  drawn  knife,  or  a  plane,  and  as  each  one 
is  nailed  to  the  preceding  one,  some  of  the  tar  or  white 
lead  is  brushed  over  it,  to  make  the  joint  tight  and  close. 
A  sufficient  number  of  nails  is  used  to  hold  the  strips 
firmly  together,  and  the  heads  are  driven  down  level  with 
the  surface  of  each  strip.  The  work  proceeds  in  this 
manner,  forming  the  strips  as  each  is  fitted,  bending 
them  to  the  shape  of  the  molds,  and  nailing  one  alter¬ 
nately  upon  each  side,  so  that  the  molds  are  not  dis¬ 
placed  by  the  spring  of  the  timber.  When  the  sides  of 
the  boat  are  completed,  the  fender  and  gunwales  are 
fitted,  and  bolted  to  them  to  strengthen  them,  and 
cleats  are  bolted  inside  for  the  seats  to  rest  upon.  The 
molds  are  now  removed,  and  the  boat  consists  of  a  solid 
shell  an  inch  and  a  half  thick,  with  not  a  nail  visible 
excepting  on  the  top  strip,  and  conforming  exactly  in 
shape  to  the  model.  To  give  extra  strength,  short  pieces 
of  the  strips  are  nailed  diagonally  across  the  inside,  from 
side  to  side,  and  across  the  keel.  In  this  manner  a 
great  deal  of  additional  stiffness  and  strength  is  given  to 
the  boat.  A  boat  of  this  kind  is  easily  repaired  when 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


24 

injured,  by  cutting  out  the  broken  part  and  inserting 
pieces  of  the  strips.  For  a  larger  boat,  which  requires 
a  deck,  the  strips  are  wider  and  thicker,  or  a  diagonal 
lining  may  be  put  into  it ;  knees  are  bolted  to  the  sides, 
and  the  beams  to  the  knees,  the  deck  being  laid  upon 
the  beams.  The  method  is  applicable  to  boats  of  all 
sizes  and  for  all  purposes,  and  its  cheapness  and  con¬ 
venience  are  rapidly  bringing  it  into  favor.  If  the 
material  is  ready  for  use,  two  men  can  finish  a  large 
boat  in  two  weeks,  and  a  small  one  in  one  week.  These 
boats  being  very  light  and  buoyant,  considerable  ballast 
will  be  necessary  to  make  them  steady  enough  in  case 
sails  are  used. 


TO  MEND  A  BROKEN  TUG. 

No  one  should  go  from  home  with  a  buggy  or  a 
wagon  without  a  small  coil  of  copper  wire  and  a  (imul- 
tum  in  par vo  ”  pocket-knife.  This  knife,  as  its  name 
implies,  has  many  parts  in  a  little  space,  and,  among 
other  useful  things,  has  a  contrivance  for  boring  holes 
in  leather  straps.  In  case  a  strap  or  a  leather  trace 
breaks,  while  one  is  on  a  journey,  and  at  a  distance  from 
anv  house,  one  would  be  in  an  awkward  “  fix  ”  if  with- 
out  any  means  of  repairing  damages.  With  the  copper 
*rire  and  an  implement  for  boring  some  holes,  repairs 
can  be  made  in  a  very  few  minutes.  The  ends  of  the 
broken  strap  or  tug  may  be  laid  over  each  other  or 
spliced ;  a  few  holes  bored  in  the  manner  shown  in  fig¬ 
ure  11,  and  some  stitches  of  tfire  passed  through  in  the 
way  known  among  the  ladies  as  “back  stitching.”  The 
ends  of  the  wire  are  twisted  together,  and  the  job  will  be 
finished  almost  as  quickly  as  this  may  be  read.  If  it  is 
a  chain  that  breaks,  the  next  links  may  be  brought  to¬ 
gether  and  wire  wound  around  them  in  place  of  the 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


2S 

broken  link,  which  will  make  the  chain  serviceable  until 
home  is  reached.  In  fact,  the  uses  of  a  piece  of  wire 
are  almost  endless.  Nothing  holds  a  button  upon  one’s 
working  clothes  so  securely  as  a  piece  of  wire,  and  once 
put  on  in  this  manner,  there  is  never  any  call  upon  the 
women  of  the  house  at  inconvenient  times  for  thread 


Fig.  11. — REPAIRING  TUG. 


and  needle  to  replace  it.  The  wire  will  pierce  the  cloth 
without  any  help,  and  nothing  more  is  needed  than  to 
pass  it  through  each  hole  of  the  button  and  twist  the 
ends  to  secure  them,  cutting  them  off  close  with  a  knife. 
There  is  scarcely  any  little  thing  that  will  be  found  of 
so  great  use  about  a  farm,  or  a  workshop,  or  in  a  mill, 
or  even  in  a  house,  as  a  small  stock  of  soft  copper  wire. 


BUSINESS  HABITS. 

There  is  probably  not  one  farmer  in  ten  thousand  who 
keeps  a  set  of  accounts  from  which  he  can  at  any  mo¬ 
ment  learn  the  cost  of  anything  he  may  have  produced, 
or  even  the  cost  of  his  real  property.  A  very  few  farm¬ 
ers  who  have  been  brought  up  to  business  habits  keep 
such  accounts,  and  are  able  to  tell  how  their  affairs  pro¬ 
gress,  what  each  crop,  each  kind  of  stock,  or  each  ani¬ 
mal  has  cost,  and  what  each  produces.  Knowing  these 
points,  a  farmer  can,  to  a  very  great  extent,  properly  de¬ 
cide  what  crops  he  will  grow,  and  what  kind  of  stock  he 
will  keep.  He  will  thus  be  able  to  apply  his  labor  and 
money  where  it  will  do  the  most  good.  He  can  weed 
out  his  stock  and  retain  only  such  animals  as  may  be 
kept  with  profit.  For  the  want  of  such  knowledge, 
2 


26 


FARM  COKYENIMCES. 


farmers  continue,  year  after  year,  to  feed  cows  that  are 
unprofitable,  and  frequently  sell  for  less  than  her  value 
one  that  is  the  best  of  the  herd,  because  she  is  not  known 
to  be  any  better  than  the  rest.  Feed  is  also  wasted  upon 
ill-bred  stock,  the  keep  of  which  costs  three  or  four 
times  that  of  well-bred  animals,  which,  as  has  been 
proved  by  figures  that  cannot  be  mistaken,  pay  a  large 
profit  on  their  keeping.  For  want  of  knowing  what 
they  cost,  poor  crops  are  raised  year  by  year  at  an  actual 
loss,  provided  the  farmer’s  labor,  at  the  rates  current  for 
common  labor,  were  charged  against  them.  To  learn 
that  he  has  been  working  for  fifty  cents  a  day,  during 
a  number  of  years,  while  he  has  been  paying  his  help 
twice  as  much,  would  open  the  eyes  of  many  a  farmer 
who  has  actually  been  doing  this,  and  it  would  convince 
him  that  there  is  some  value  in  figures  and  hook  ac¬ 
counts.  It  is  not  generally  understood  that  a  man  who 
raises  twenty  bushels  of  corn  per  acre,  pays  twice  as 
much  for  his  plowing  and  harrowing,  twice  as  much  for 
labor,  and  twice  as  great  interest  upon  the  cost  of  his 
farm,  as  a  neighbor  who  raises  forty  bushels  per  acre. 
FTor  is  it  understood  that  when  he  raises  a  pig  that 
makes  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  pork  in  a  year, 
that  his  pork  costs  him  twice  as  much,  or  the  corn  he 
feeds  brings  him  but  half  as  much  as  that  of  his  neigh¬ 
bor,  whose  pig  weighs  three  hundred  pounds  at  a  year 
old.  If  all  these  things  were  clearly  set  down  in  figures 
upon  a  page  in  an  account  book,  and  were  studied,  there 
would  be  not  only  a  sudden  awakening  to  the  unprofita¬ 
bleness  of  such  farming,  but  an  immediate  remedy  would 
be  sought.  For  no  person  could  resist  evidence  of  this 
kind  if  it  were  once  brought  plainly  home  to  him.  If 
storekeepers,  merchants,  or  manufacturers  kept  no  ac¬ 
counts,  they  could  not  possibly  carry  on  their  business, 
and  it  is  only  because  the  farmer’s  business  is  one  of  the 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


27 

most  safe  that  he  can  still  go  on  working  in  the  dark, 
and  throwing  away  opportunities  of  bettering  his  con¬ 
dition  and  increasing  his  profits. 


HAY-RACKS. 

We  here  illustrate  two  kinds  of  hay-racks,  which  have 


Fig.  12.— HAY-RACK. 

4 

been  found  more  convenient  in  use  than  some  of  the  old 


Fig.  13. — RACK  FOR  GRAIN. 

kinds.  That  shown  in  figure  12  consists  of  a  frame  made 


28 


FARM  CONVENIENCES, 


Fig.  15.— EXTRICATING  A  MIRED  COW 


FAKM  CONVENIENCES. 


29 


of  scantlings,  mortised  together,  and  fitting  upon  the 
wagon  after  the  box  has  been  removed.  Cross-pieces,, 
which  project  over  the  wheels,  are  bolted  to  the  frame, 
and  to  these  one  or  two  side-boards  are  bolted.  A  few 
short,  sharpened  stakes  are  fixed  into  the  sides  of  the 
frame,  which  help  to  hold  the  load,  and  prevent  it  from 
slipping  off  from  the  rack  during  the  loading.  A  strong 
rack  of  this  kind  may  be  made  to  carry  a  very  large  load 
of  hay.  We  have  seen  over  thirty  hundred-weight  loaded 
upon  one  of  them,  and  more  might 
have  been  easily  added  to  the  load. 

The  plan  of  building  this  rack  is 
readily  seen  by  studying  the  engrav¬ 
ing.  At  figure  13  is  shown  a  rack 
made  to  fit  upon  a  wagon  body. 

When  grain  is  hauled,  much  is 
sometimes  lost  through  the  rack,  by 
shelling.  This  is  almost  always  the 
case  in  hauling  ripe  oats,  and  always 
in  drawing  buckwheat.  To  avoid  Flg‘  14-~SUI,pORT  roR 
this  loss,  we  have  used  a  strong 
wagon-box  of  rough  planks,  fitted  w7ith  iron  sockets, 
bolted  securely  to  the  sides.  Into  these  sockets  were 
fitted  head  and  tail  racks,  as  shown  in  the  engraving. 
For  the  sides  we  procured  natural  crooks,  shown  in 
figure  14. 


HOW  TO  EXTRICATE  A  MIRED  ANIMAL.] 

An  animal  mired  in  a  swamp  gets  into  a  worse  pre¬ 
dicament  the  longer  it  struggles.  The  effort  to  extricate 
it  should  be  made  in  an  effective  manner,  so  that  the  ani¬ 
mal  may  not  be  encouraged  to  exhaust  itself  in  repeated  ex¬ 
ertions,  which  are  useless,  and  only  sink  it  deeper  in  the 
mire.  The  usual  method  is  to  fasten  a  rope  around  the 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


ammal’s  horns  or  neck,  and  while  this  is  pulled  by  some 
of  the  assistants,  others  place  rails  beneath  the  body  of 
the  animal  for  the  purpose  of  lifting  it  out  of  the  hole. 
This  plan  is  sometimes  effective,  but  it  often  is  not,  and 
at  best  it  is  a  slow,  clumsy,  and  laborious  method.  The 
materials  needed  for  the  method  here  referred  to  are  all 
that  are  required  for  a  much  better  one,  which  is  illus¬ 
trated  in  Figure  15.  This  is  very  simple,  and  two  men 
can  operate  it,  and,  at  a  pinch,  even  one  man  alone  may 
succeed  with  it.  A  strong  stake  or  an  iron  bar  is  driven 
into  the  solid  ground  at  a  distance  of  twenty-five  feet  or 
more  from  the  mired  animal.  Two  short  rails,  about 
nine  feet  long,  are  tied  together  near  the  ends,  so  that 
they  can  be  spread  apart  in  the  form  of  a  pair  of  shears, 
for  hoisting.  A  long  rope  is  fastened  around  the  horns 
or  neck  of  the  animal,  with  such  a  knot  that  the  loop 
cannot  be  drawn  tight  enough  to  do  any  injury.  The 
rope  is  cast  over  the  ends  of  the  rails  as  they  are  set  up 
upon  the  edge  of  the  solid  ground,  and  carried  to  the 
stake  or  crow-bar  beyond.  The  end  of  the  rope  is  fast¬ 
ened  to  a  stout  hand-spike,  leaving  about  a  foot  of  the 
end  of  it  free.  This  end  is  laid  against  the  bar  or  stake, 
and  the  other  end  is  moved  around  it  so  that  the  rope  is 
wound  upon  it,  drawing  it  up  and  with  it  drawing  the 
animal  out  of  the  mire.  The  rope  being  held  up  by  the 
tied  rails,  tends  to  lift  the  animal  and  make  its  extrica¬ 
tion  very  easy. 


HOW  TO  SAVE  AND  KEEP  MANURE. 

There  is  no  question  more  frequently  or  seriously  con¬ 
sidered  by  the  farmer,  than  how  he  shall  get,  keep,  and 
spend  an  adequate  supply  of  manure  ;  nor  is  there  any¬ 
thing  about  the  farm  which  is  of  greater  importance 
to  its  successful  management  than  the  manure  heap 


EAKM  COKYE^IEKCES. 


31 


Fhere  are  few  farmers  now  left  who  pretend  to  ignore 
this  feed  for  the  land ;  and  few  localities,  even  in  the 
newer  Western  States,  where  manure  now  is  thought  to 
be  a  nuisance.  We  have  gradually  come  to  the  inevitable 
final  end  of  our  “  virgin  farms,”  and  have  now  either  to 
save  what  is  left  of  their  wonderful  natural  fertility,  or 
to  restore  them  slowly  and  laboriously  to  a  profitable 
condition.  We  have  reached  the  end  of  our  tether,  and 
are  obliged  to  confess  that  we  have  trespassed  over  the 
line  which  bounds  the  territory  of  the  locust,  or  have 
improved  the  face  of  the  country  so  much  that,  the  pro¬ 
tecting  timber  being  removed,  the  water  supply  is  be¬ 
coming  precarious,  and  springs,  brooks,  and  rivers  no 
longer  flow  as  they  did  heretofore.  To  some  extent  the 
tide  of  emigration,  which  has  flowed  westward  so  many 
years,  is  now  eddying  or  even  ebbing,  and  the  cheap, 
worn  lands  of  the  East  are  finding  purchasers,  who  un¬ 
dertake  to  bring  them  back  to  their  former  condition. 
At  the  same  time  Eastern  farmers  are  discovering  more 
and  more  certainly  that  they  must  increase  their  crops, 
and  make  one  acre  produce  as  much  as  two  have  hereto¬ 
fore  done.  The  only  way  in  which  either  of  these  classes 
can  succeed,  is  by  keeping  sufficient  stock  to  manure 
their  farms  liberally  ;  to  feed  these  animals  so  skillfully 
and  well  that  they  shall  pay  for  their  feed  with  a  profit, 
and  in  addition  leave  a  supply  of  rich  manure,  with 
which  the  soil  can  be  kept  in  a  productive  state,  and  to 
save  and  use  the  manure  with  such  care  that  no  particle 
of  it  be  lost.  It  is  not  every  farmer  who  can  procure  all 
the  manure  he  needs  ;  but  very  many  can  save  what 
they  have,  with  far  greater  economy  than  they  now  do  ; 
and  this,  although  it  may  seem  a  question  secondary  to 
that  of  getting  manure,  is  really  of  primary  importance  ; 
for  by  using  what  one  has  to  better  purpose,  he  opens  a 
way  to  increase  his  supply.  We  have  found  this  to  be 


32 


FARM  CONVE^IEN  tJES. 


the  case  in  our  own  experience,  and  by  strict  attention 
to  saving  and  preserving  every  particle  of  manure  in  its 
best  condition,  we  have  succeeded  in  so  enlarging  our 
supply  of  fodder  that  the  number  of  stock  that  could  be 
fed  was  largely  increased  each  year,  and  very  soon  it  was 
necessary  to  go  out  and  buy  animals  to  consume  the  sur¬ 
plus.  To  bring  a  farm  into  improved  condition,  there 
is  no  cheaper  or  more  effective  method  than  this. 

The  ordinary  management  of  manure,  in  open  barn¬ 
yards,  where  it  is  washed  by  rains,  dried  by  the  sun’s 
scorching  heat,  and  wasted  by  every  wind  that  blows,  is 
the  worst  that  is  possible.  In  this  way  half  or  more  of 
the  value  of  the  manure  is  lost.  By  figuring  up  what 
it  would  cost  to  purchase  a  quantity  of  manure  equal  to 
what  is  thus  lost,  the  costliness  of  this  common  method 
would  be  discovered,  and  the  question  how  much  could 
be  afforded  to  take  care  of  the  manure  would  be  settled. 
When  properly  littered,  one  cow  or  ox  will  make  a  ton 
of  manure  every  month,  if  the  liquid  as  well  as  the  solid 
portion  is  saved.  Ten  head  would  thus  make  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  twenty  tons,  or  sixty  two-horse  wagon  loads 
in  a  year.  A  pair  of  horses  will  make  as  much  manure 
as  one  cow,  or  twelve  tons  in  the  year.  A  hundred  sheep, 
if  yarded  every  night  and  well  littered,  will  make  one 
hundred  tons  of  manure  in  the  year,  and  ten  pigs  will 
work  up  a  wagon  load  in  a  month,  if  supplied  with 
sufficient  coarse  material.  The  stock  of  a  one  hundred 
$cre  farm,  which  should  consist  of  at  least  ten  cows,  ten 
head  of  steers,  heifers,  and  calves,  a  pair  of  horses,  one 
hundred  sheep,  and  ten  pigs,  would  then  make,  in  the 
aggregate,  three  hundred  and  sixteen  tons  of  manure 
every  year,  or  sufficient  to  give  twelve  tons  per  acre  every 
fourth  year.  If  this  were  well  cared  for,  it  would  be,  in 
effect,  equal  to  double  the  quantity  of  ordinary  yard 
manure  ;  and  if  a  plenty  of  swamp  muck  could  be  pro- 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


33 


cured,  at  least  six  hundred  tons  of  the  best  manure  could 
be  made  upon  a  one  hundred  acre  farm.  If  this  were 
the  rule  instead  of  a  rare  exception,  or  only  a  possibility, 
what  a  change  would  appear  upon  the  face  of  the  coun¬ 
try,  and  what  an  addition  would  be  made  to  the  wealth 
of  the  nation  ! 


GRINDING  TOOLS. 

The  useful  effect  of  many  tools  depends  greatly  upon 
the  exact  grinding  of  their  edges  to  a  proper  bevel.  A 
cold  chisel,  for  instance,  requires  an  edge  of  a  certain 


Fig.  16.— DEVICE  FOR  GRINDING  MILL-PICKS. 


bevel  to  cut  hard  metal,  and  one  of  a  different  angle  for 
softer  metal;  the  harder  the  work  to  be  cut,  the  greater 
should  be  the  angle  formed  by  the  edge,  and  the  softer 
the  material,  the  more  acute  the  edge.  The  same  rule 
2* 


31 


FAKM  CONVENIENCES. 


is  to  be  observed  in  wood-cutting  tools.  But  there  are 
no  tools  which  require  more  exact  and  careful  grinding 
than  mill-picks,  and  the  first  business  of  a  miller  is  to 
know  how  to  grind  his  picks.  Upon  this  depends  the 
dress  of  the  stones,  and  the  quality  of  work  turned  out 
by  them.  Figure  16  represents  a  small  grindstone  for 
sharpening  picks,  which  is  run  by  means  of  friction 
wheels  covered  with  leather,  and  provided  with  a  gauge 
for  setting  the  pick  at  a  variable  angle  to  the  stone. 
This  gauge,  shown  in  the  engraving,  is  so  serviceable  as 
to  be  well  worth  a  place  in  any  farm  workshop.  It  con¬ 
sists  of  a  series  of  steps  raised  upon  a  slotted  plank, 
which  is  screwed  upon  the  frame  of  the  grindstone.  By 
means  of  the  slot  and  a  set  screw,  seen  below  the  pick, 
the  gauge  can  be  set  for  tools  of  different  lengths,  and 
each  step  causes  the  tool  set  in  it  to  be  ground  at  a  dif« 
ferent  angle.  _ 

A  METHOD  OF  HANGING  HOGS. 

An  easy  method  of  hanging  a  hog  or  a  beef,  is  by  the 
use  of  the  tripod  shown  in  figure  17.  It  is  made  of 

three  by  three  oak  scantling,  six 
feet  long,  connected  at  one  end,  in 
the  manner  shown,  by  means  of  an 
iron  bar  one  inch  thick,  passed 
through  a  hole  bored  in  each  piece. 
The  two  outside  pieces  are  fastened 
together  by  two  cross-pieces,  bolted 
to  them,  so  that  they  are  spread 
at  the  bottom  sufficiently,  which 
would  be  about  three  feet.  A  hook 
is  fastened  to  the  lower  cross-piece, 
upon  which  the  hog  is  suspended. 
Fig.  17.— tripod  set  up.  pang  ^jie  ]10g  the  frame  is  laid 

upon  the  ground  with  the  hog  between  the  outside 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


35 


legs,  the  third  leg  being  drawn  backwards.  The  hog  is 
hooked  by  the  gambrel  stick  to  the  cross  piece,  the  frame 
is  lifted  up,  and  the  hinder  leg  is  spread  out  so  as  to  sup¬ 
port  it,  as  shown  in  figure  17.  The  frame  may  be  lowered 
easily  when  the  hog  has  to  be  taken  down,  and  as  the 
frames  are  cheaply  made,  and  occupy  little  room,  it  will 
be  well  to  have  several  of  them.  They  may  be  made  to 
serve  other  useful  purposes. 


RELIEF  FOR  BOO-SPAVIN  AND  THOROUGH-PIN. 

Bog-spavin,  and  thorough-pin,  which  are  in  reality 
the  same  disease,  differing  in  position  only,  and  that  very 
slightly,  may  be  considered  as  incurable.  But  like  many 
chronic  disorders,  they  may  be  very  much  relieved  by 
proper  methods.  They  are  caused  by  an  inflammatory 
condition  of  the  synovial  membrane  of  the  hock  joint, 
and  are  chiefly  located  in  the  vicinity  of  the  junction 
of  the  bones  of  the  leg,  or  the  capsule  between  the  tibia 
and  the  astragalus.  This  inflammation  may  be  primarily 
caused  by  sudden  shocks,  or  by  continued  strains  from 
hard  work,  and  the  troubles  are  common  among  those 
horses  which  are  of  a  lymphatic  constitution,  soft  boned, 
or  hereditarily  subject  to  scrofulous  or  inflammatory  con¬ 
ditions.  They  are  also  found  lower  down  the  leg,  in 
which  case  they  are  the  result  of  inflammation  of  the 
sheath  of  the  tendons.  They  do  not  always  cause  lame¬ 
ness,  except  when  the  horse  is  first  brought  from  the 
stable,  and  after  a  short  time  the  stiffness  may  pass 
away.  At  other  times  there  is  great  heat  and  tenderness 
in  the  parts,  and  the  animal  is  decidedly  lame.  The 
best  treatment  is  by  cold  applications  and  pressure  upon 
the  part.  Blistering,  which  is  sometimes  resorted  to, 
generally  increases  the  trouble,  and  may  cause  a  perma¬ 
nent  thickening  of  the  tissues,  and  a  stiff  joint.  Pres- 


36 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


sure  is  best  applied  by  a  sort  of  truss,  or  strap,  provided 
with  a  single  pad  m  case  of  spavin  or  wind-gall,  or 
double  pads  in  case  of  thorough -pin,  which  is  sim¬ 
ply  a  spavin  or  wind-gall,  so  placed 
that  the  liquid  which  is  gathered  in 
the  sac  or  put!  may  be  pressed  be' 
tween  the  tendons  or  joint,  and  mad*1 
to  appear  on  the  opposite  side  of  tho 
leg.  In  this  case  it  is  obviously 
necessary  to  apply  the  pressure  upon 
both  sides  of  the  leg,  and  a  double 
pad  strap  will  be  needed,  of  the 
form  shown  in  figure  18.  A  com¬ 
mon  broad  leather  strap,  lined  with 
flannel,  or  chamois  leather,  to  pre¬ 
vent  chafing,  is  used  ;  pads  of  soft 
leather,  stuffed  with  wool,  are  sewn 
to  the  strap,  and  the  exact  spots  where  the  pressure  is 
to  bear,  disks  of  several  thicknesses  of  soft  leather  or 
rubber  are  affixed.  The  pads  must  necessarily  be  made 
to  fit  each  individual  case,  as  success  will  depend  upon 
their  properly  fitting  the  limb.  The  pads  should  be 
worn  continually  until  the  swelling  disappears,  and 
meanwhile,  at  least  twice  daily,  the  parts  should  be 
bathed  for  some  time  with  cold  water,  and  cloths  wetted 
with  cold  water,  with  which  a  small  quantity  of  ether 
has  been  mixed,  should  be  bound  around  the  parts,  and 
the  pads  buckled  over  them  so  tightly  as  to  exert  a  con 
siderable  pressure.  Absolute  rest  is  necessary  while  the 
animal  is  under  this  treatment. 


Fig.  18.—  SPAVIN  PAD. 


TOOL-BOXES  FOR  WAGONS,  ETC. 

To  go  from  home  with  a  wagon  without  taking  a  few 
tools,  is  to  risk  a  break-down  from  some  unforeseen  acci- 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


37 


dent,  without  the  means  of  repairing  it,  and  perhaps  a 
consequent  serious  or  costly  delay.  Those  who  do  busi¬ 
ness  regularly  upon  the  roads,  as  those  who  haul  lumber, 
wood,  coal,  or  ores  of  different 
kinds,  should  especially  be  pro¬ 
vided  with  a  set  of  tools,  as  a  reg¬ 
ular  appurtenance  to  the  wagon, 
and  the  careful  farmer  in  going  Fig.  19.— wagon  box. 
to  market  or  the  mill,  or  even  to  and  fro  upon  the  farm, 
should  be  equally  well  provided.  We  have  found  by 
experience  that  a  break-down  generally  happens  in  the 
worst  possible  place,  and  where  it  is  most  difficult  to 
help  one’s  self.  The  loss  of  so  simple  a  thing  as  a  nut  or 
a  holt  may  wreck  a  loaded  wagon,  or  render  it  impossi¬ 
ble  to  continue  the  journey,  or  some  breakage  by  a  sud¬ 
den  jerk  upon  a  rough  road  may  do  the  same.  It  is 
safe  to  be  provided  for  any  event,  and  the  comfort  of 
knowing  that  he  is  thus  provided  greatly  lightens  a 
man’s  labor.  At  one  time,  wrhen  we  had  several  wagons 
and  teams  at  work  upon  the  road,  we  provided  the  fore¬ 
man’s  wagon  with  a  box  such  as  is  here  described,  and 
it  was  in  frequent  use,  saving  a  considerable  outlay  that 
would  otherwise  have  been  necessary  for  repairs,  besides 
much  loss  of  valuable  time.  It  was  a  box  about  eight¬ 
een  inches  long,  sixteen  inches  wide,  and  six  inches  deep, 
divided  into  several  compartments.  It  was  supplied 
with  a  spare  king-bolt,  a  hammer-strap,  wrench,  some 
staples,  bolts,  nuts,  screws,  a  screW-driver,  a  hammer, 
cold-chisel,  wood-chisel,  punch,  pincers,  a  hoof-pick, 
copper  rivets,  a  roll  of  copper  wire,  a  knife  heavy  and 
strong  enough  to  cut  down  a  small  sapling,  a  roll  of 
narrow  hoop-iron,  some  cut  and  wrought  nails,  and  such 
other  things  as  experience  proved  to  be  convenient  to 
have.  The  shape  of  the  box  is  shown  in  figure  19.  The 
middle  of  the  top  is  fixed,  and  on  each  side  of  it  is  a  lid 


38 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


hinged  to  it,  and  which  is  fastened  by  a  hasp  and  staple, 
and  a  padlock  or  a  spring  key.  The  box  is  suspended  to 
the  wagon  reach,  beneath  the  box  or  load,  by  two  strong 
leather  straps  with  common  buckles.  Being  only  six 
inches  deep,  it  is  not  in  the  way  of  anything,  and  is 
readily  accessible  when  wanted. 


MAKING  A  HINGE. 

A  gate  with  a  broken  hinge  is  a  very  forlorn  object, 
and  one  that  declares  to  every  passer-by,  “here  lives  a 
poor  farmer.”  If  there  is  one  thing  more  than  another 
worthy  of  note  and  a  cause  of  congratulation  in  this  one 
hundredth  year  of  the  existence  of  the  United  States,  it 
is  the  infinite  number  of  small  conveniences  with  which 
we  are  supplied,  every  one  of  which  adds  to  the  sum  of 
our  daily  comfort.  More  than  this,  the  majority  of 
these  little  things,  which  are  in  use  all  over  the  world, 
are  the  inventions  and  productions  of  Americans.  So 
plentifully  are  we  supplied  with  these  small  conveniences, 
that  we  cannot  turn  our  eyes  in  any  direction  without 
coming  across  some  of  them.  It  is  these  small  matters 
which  enable  us  to  have  so  many  neat  and  pleasant 
things  about  our  homes,  at  so  little  cost  of  money,  time, 
or  labor.  One  of  the  greatest  of  the  small  conveniences 
around  the  farm,  or  the  mechanic’s  rural  home,  is  the 
small  forge.  To  make  a  gate-hinge  with  the  help  of 
this  portable  forge  is  a  very  easy  thing.  We  take  a 
piece  of  half-inch  square  bar-iron,  as  long  as  may  be 
needed,  and  heating  one  end,  round  it  for  an  inch  or 
two  ;  then,  heating  the  other  end,  flatten  it  out  gradually 
to  a  point  for  the  same  length,  and  bend  it  over  a 
mandrel,  or  the  nose  of  an  anvil,  into  the  shape  shows 


FAKM  CONVENIENCES. 


39 


in  figure  20.  We  then  cut  off  a  piece  of  round  half-inch 
bar,  about  two  inches  long,  and 
drive  it  into  the  loop,  tightening 
the  loop  around  it  as  much  as  pos¬ 
sible.  The  loop-end  is  then  brought  to  a  welding  heat, 
and  the  joint  closed  around  the  pin,  and  neatly  worked 
smooth  with  the  hammer.  Another  piece  of  square  iron 
is  then  taken,  and  worked  at  each  end  the  same  as  the 
first  one,  the  loop,  however,  is  worked  open  upon  a  piece 
of  cold  | -inch  round  bar,  so  that  it  will  be  large  enough 
to  work  easily  upon  the  pin  of  the  first  piece.  A  thread 
may  now  be  cut  upon  the  round  ends,  or  they  may  be 
riveted  over  a  piece  of  iron  plate,  or  a  large  washer, 
when  they  are  driven  through  the  gate-post  and  the 
heel-post  of  the  gate.  It  is  best,  however,  to  have  a 
screw-thread  and  a  nut,  using  a  washer  under  each  nut, 
to  prevent  the  wood  from  being  crushed.  The  whole 
then  appears  as  at  figure  21,  and  is  a  hinge  that  cannot 

easily  be  broken  or  worn  out.  In 
boring  the  holes  for  a  hinge  of  this 
kind,  a  bit  or  an  auger  of  only 
half-an-ineh  diameter  should  be 
used,  so  that  the  edges  of  the  iron 
should  cut  their  own  way  into  the  wood,  and  when  the 
hinges  are  driven,  a  piece  of  hard  wood  should  be  laid 
upon  the  ends  that  are  struck,  so  that  they  will  not  be 
battered  by  the  hammer.  Care  must  be  exercised  to 
have  them  driven  in  squarely,  so  that  the  gate  may 
swing  without  binding  on  the  hinges.  For  lighter 
hinges,  the  same  sized  iron  may  be  used,  but  the  ends 
should  be  hammered  out  to  a  point,  and  the  edges 
should  be  notched  or  bearded  with  a 
cold-cliisel,  as  shown  at  figure  22. 

These  may  be  driven  into  a  post  Fi£-  22- 

very  readily,  if  a  hole  smaller  than  the  iron  be  bored  to 


40 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


lead  the  way,  and  when  driven  in,  will  not  be  easily 
drawn  out.  When  it  is  necessary  to  draw  a  hinge  out 
of  a  post  or  gate,  that  has  become  rusted  in,  or  that  has 
been  very  tightly  driven,  it  may  easily  be  done  by  boring 
a  hole  above  it,  or  on  one  side  of  it,  or  beneath  it,  a 
little  larger  than  the  iron,  and  then  forcing  it  into  the 
hole  by  means  of  a  wooden  wedge  driven  close  to  it.  It 
will  then  be  loose,  and  may  easily  be  taken  out  without 
difficulty. 


SHELTER  FOR  THE  HEAD. 

Many  a  severe  headache,  and  a  restless  night  after  an 
exhausting  day’s  work  in  the  harvest  field,  might  be 
prevented  by  the  use  of  some  simple  precautions.  The 
sun  beats  down  upon  the  head  and  neck  with  great 
force,  when  the  thermometer  marks  ninety  degrees  and 
over  in  the  shade,  and  the  scorching  effect  of  a  heat  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  degrees  in  the  direct  sunshine 
is  both  uncomfortable  and  dangerous  to  the  health. 

protected  in  such  cases  by  wearing 
a  straw  hat,  or  one  of  some  open 
material,  with  a  broad  brim,  and 
by  placing  a  leaf  of  cabbage  or  let¬ 
tuce,  or  a  wetted  cambric  handker¬ 
chief  in  the  crown  of  it.  The  very 
sensitive  back  of  the  head  and  neck 
is  best  protected  by  means  of  a 
white  handkerchief  fastened  by  one 
border  to  the  hat-band,  figure  23, 
and  the  rest  made  to  hang  down 
loosely  over  the  neck  and  shoul¬ 
ders.  The  neck  is  thus  shaded 
from  the  sun’s  rays,  and  the  loosely 
flapping  handkerchief  causes  a  constant  current  of  air  to 


The  head  should  be 


Fig.  23. — NECK-PRO¬ 
TECTOR. 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


41 


pass  around  and  cool  the  neck  and  head.  We  have 
found  this  to  be  a  most  comfortable  thing  to  wear,  and 
its  value  as  a  protector  to  the  base  of  the  brain  and  the 
spinal  marrow  is  so  well  known  in  hot  countries,  that  the 
use  of  a  similar  protection  is  made  imperative  in  armies 
when  on  the  march. 


HOW  TO  LEVEL  WITH  SQUARE  AND  PLUMB-LINE. 

The  common  carpenter’s  square  and  a  plumb-line  may 
be  made  to  serve  as  a  substitute  for  the  spirit  level  for 
many  purposes  on  the  farm  or  elsewhere,  when  a  level 
is  not  at  hand.  The  manner  of  getting  the  square  in 
position  to  level  a  wall,  for  instance,  is  shown  in  figure 


24.  A  piece  of  board,  three  feet  in  length,  having  one 
end  sharpened,  is  driven  into  the  ground  for  a  rest ;  a 
notch  is  made  in  the  top  of  the  stick  large  enough  to 
hold  the  square  firmly  in  position,  as  shown  in  the  en¬ 
graving.  A  line  and  weight,  held  near  the  short  arm, 
and  parallel  to  it,  will  leave  the  long  arm  of  the  square 
level.  By  sighting  over  the  top  of  the  square,  any  irreg- 


42 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


ularities  in  the  object  to  be  levelled  are  readily  discovered. 
A  method  to  find  the  number  of  feet  in  a  descent  in  the 
ground  is  illustrated  by  figure  25.  The  square  is  placed 
as  before  directed  ;  then  a  sight  is  taken  over  and  along 
the  upper  edge  of  the  square  to  a  pole  or  rod  placed  at  a 


Fig.  25.— MEASURING  A  SLOPE  WITH  A  SQUARE. 


desired  point.  The  point  on  the  pole  which  is  struck 
by  the  line  of  sight  shows  the  difference  between  the 
levels  of  the  two  places.  This  method  will  be  found  ap¬ 
plicable  in  laying  out  drains,  where  a  certain  desired  fall 
is  to  be  given  to  the  ditch. 


KEEP  THE  CATTLE  UNDER  COYER. 

Even  now,  in  some  of  the  newer  regions  of  the  West, 
the  easiest  way  to  get  rid  of  the  manure  is  considered 
the  best.  The  English  farmers  have  long  been  obliged 
to  feed  farm  animals  largely  for  the  fertilizers  they  yield, 
and  this  has  proved  that  covered  yards  are  the  most 
economical.  These  covers  are  not  so  expensive  as  might 
be  supposed  at  first  thought.  Substantial  sheds,  large 
enough  to  accommodate  a  hundred  head  of  cattle,  may 
be  built  at  a  cost  all  the  way  from  $1,000  to  $1,500, 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


43 


ficcording  to  the  locality  and  price  of  labor  and  lumber. 
The  roof  may  be  made  with  three  ridge  poles  resting 
upon  outside  walls,  and  two  rows  of  pillars.  There 
should  be  ample  provision  for  ventilation  and  the  escape 
of  the  water  falling  upon  the  roof.  The  original  cost 
will  not  be  many  dollars  per  head,  and  the  interest  on 
this  will  represent  the  yearly  cost.  If  this  should  be 
placed  at  two  dollars  for  each  animal,  it  will  be  seen 
that  this  outlay  is  more  than  repaid  by  the  increased 
value  of  the  housed  manure  over  that  made  in  the  open 
yard,  and  exposed  to  the  sun  and  drenching  rains.  The 
saving  in  food  consequent  upon  the  warm  protection  of 
the  animals  has  been  carefully  estimated  to  be  at  least 
one-tenth  the  whole  amount  consumed.  In  the  saving 
alone,  the  covered  yard  gives  a  handsome  return  upon 
the  investment. 


WATERING  PLACES  FOR  STOCK  ON  LEVEL  LAND. 

It  is  frequently  the  case  that  there  are  underdrains  of 
living  water  passing  through  level  fields,  in  which  there 
is  no  water  available  for  stock.  In  such  a  case,  a  simple 


Fig.  26. — TAKING  WATER  FROM  UNDERDRAIN. 

CD 


plan  for  bringing  the  water  to  the  surface  is  shown  in 
figures  26  and  27,  in  which  is  indicated  an  underdrain 
of  stone  or  tile ;  a  pipe  of  two-inch  bore  of  wood  or 
tile,  and  about  15  feet  in  length,  is  laid  level  with  the 
bottom  of  the  drain,  and  connecting  with  a  box  one  foot 
or  more  square  sunk  into  the  ground.  If  the  soil  be 


44 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


soft,  the  box  is  surrounded  with  stones  as  shown.  A  low 
place  or  small  hollow  at  some  point  along  the  drain  is 
selected  for  the  watering  box,  or,  should  the  land  be 


Fig.  27.— THE  WATERING  PLACE. 


nearly  level,  then  with  plow  and  scraper  an  artificial 
hollow  is  soon  made  at  any  point  desired.  Two  fields 
may  be  thus  easily  watered  by  making  the  box  two  feet  in 
length,  and  placing  it  so  that  the  fence  will  divide  it. 


A  SHAVING-HORSE. 

The  shingle-horse,  shown  in  figure  28,  is  made  of 
a  plank  ten  feet  long,  six  inches  wide,  and  an  inch  and 


Fig.  28. — SHAVING-HORSE  FOR  SHINGLES. 


a  half  thick.  A  slot  is  cut  through  this  plank,  and  & 
lever,  made  of  a  natural  crook,  is  hinged  into  it.  A 
wooden  spring  is  fixed  behind  the  lever,  and  is  fastened 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


43 


to  it  by  a  cord.  This  pulls  back  the  lever  when  the  foot 
is  removed  from  the  step  beneath.  The  horse  may  have 
four  legs,  but  two  will  be  sufficient,  if  the  rear  end  is 
made  to  rest  upon  the  ground.  Figure  29  is  made  of  a 
plank,  six  feet  long,  ten  inches  wide,  and  two  inches 
thick.  Four  legs,  two  feet  long,  are  fixed  in  inch  and  a 
half  holes,  as  shown  below.  A  bench,  eighteen  inches 


Fig.  29. — HORSE  FOR  GENERAL  USE. 


long,  eight  and  a  half  inches  wide,  and  an  inch  and 
a  half  thick,  is  fixed  upon  the  horse.  A  slot,  eight 
by  one  and  a  half  inches,  is  cut  through  the  bench  and 
the  plank,  and  the  lever,  two  feet  eight  inches  long,  is 
fixed  in  this  by  means  of  a  pin  passing  through  the 
bench.  Some  extra  holes  are  made  in  the  lever,  by 
which  the  height  of  the  head  above  the  bench  may  be 
changed  to  suit  different  sizes  of  work.  A  head  is  put 
upon  the  lever,  six  inches  square  each  way,  but  bevelled 
off  at  the  front.  The  foot-board,  five  by  ten  inches,  is 
fastened  to  the  bottom  of  the  lever  by  a  strong  pin. 


A  MILKING-STOOL. 

The  front  of  the  stool  (figure  30)  is  hollowed  to  re¬ 
ceive  the  pail,  which  is  kept  in  its  place  by  a  wire,  fixed 
as  shown  in  the  engraving.  The  front  leg  has  a  pro- 


46 


FARM  COKVENIEKCES. 


jecting  rest  upon  which  the  bottom  of  the  pail  is  placed 
to  keep  it  from  the  ground,  and  also  from  breaking 


Fig.  30. — A  MILKING-STOOL. 


away  the  wire  by  its  weight.  The  milker  may  either  sit 
astride  of  this  stool,  or  sideways  upon  it. 


HOW  TO  TREAT  THRUSH. 

Thrush  is  a  disease  of  the  horse’s  hoof,  quite  common 
in  this  country.  It  results  oftener  from  neglect  in  the 
stables  than  from  any  other  cause.  The  symptoms  are 
fetid  odor  and  morbid  exudation  from  the  frog,  accom¬ 
panied  with  softening  of  the  same.  A  case  recently 
came  under  our  observation.  A  young  carriage  horse, 
used  mostly  on  the  road,  and  kept  in  the  stable  through 
the  year,  showed  lameness  in  the  left  fore  foot  one  morn¬ 
ing  after  standing  idle  in  the  stable  all  the  previous  day. 
On  removing  the  shoe,  and  examining  the  hoof,  a  fetid 
odor  was  observed.  The  stable  was  examined,  when  the 
sawdust  used  for  bedding  was  found  to  be  saturated  with 
urine.  The  stable  was  cleaned  immediately.  Dry  saw¬ 
dust  was  placed  in  the  stall,  and  a  few  sods  packed  in 
the  space  where  the  horse  usually  rested  his  fore  feet. 
The  lameness  diminished  without  medical  treatment. 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


4? 


and  in  ten  days  disappeared  altogether.  A  bedding  of 
sawdust  or  earth,  covered  with  straw  or  leaves,  promotes 
the  comfort  of  the  horse,  but  it  needs  watching  and 
systematic  renewing.  The  limit  of  the  absorbing  power 
of  the  driest  soil,  or  sawdust,  is  soon  reached.  If  a 
horse  is  kept  most  of  the  time  in  the  stable,  his  bedding 
soon  becomes  wet,  and  unfit  for  his  use.  It  is  all  the 
better  for  the  compost  heap,  and  for  the  horse,  to  have 
frequent  renewals  of  absorbments  of  some  kind,  that 
fermentation  may  not  be  in  progress  under  his  hoofs. 
The  proper  place  for  this  fermentation  is  in  the  compost 
heap.  Too  often  the  care  of  the  horse  is  left  to  a  servant 
without  experience  in  the  stable,  and  the  result  is  per¬ 
manent  disease  in  the  hoofs  and  legs  of  the  horse.  This 
is  most  certainly  one  of  the  cases  in  which  “  an  ounce 
of  prevention  is  worth  a  pound  of  cure.” 


A  WESTERN  LOCUST  TRAP. 

A  great  many  devices  have  been  used  for  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  the  locusts  in  those  Western  States  where  they 
have  done  so  much  mischief  for  a  few  years  past. 
Whether  the  locusts  are  to  remain  as  a  permanent  pest 
to  the  Western  farmers,  or  not,  remains  to  be  proved. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  through  some  effects  of  the 
climate,  the  attacks  of  parasitic  enemies,  their  consump¬ 
tion  by  birds  and  other  animals,  and  by  the  efforts  of  the 
farmers  themselves,  the  locusts  have  of  late  been  greatly 
reduced  in  numbers,  and  their  depredations  have  become 
almost  inconsiderable.  Many  methods  have  been  adopted 
for  their  destruction.  Rolling  the  ground  ;  plowing  fur¬ 
rows,  and  making  pits  in  them  in  which  the  insects  are 
caught ;  burning  them  in  long  piles  of  dry  grass  ;  catch¬ 
ing  them  in  large  sacks,  and  upon  frames  smeared  with 


48 


EAEM  COKVEKIEKCES. 


gas  tar,  and  upon  large  sheet-iron  pans  containing  burn¬ 
ing  fuel ;  all  these  have  been  tried  with  more  or  less 
success,  as  well  as  the  negative  means  of  diverting  them 
from  their  course  by  means  of  thick  smoke  from  smoth¬ 
ered  fires  of  prairie  hay.  A  most  effective  method  is 
one  invented  by  a  woman  in  Minnesota.  This  consists 
of  a  large  strip  of  sheet-iron,  figure  31,  from  ten  to 
thirty  feet  long,  turned  up  a  few  inches  at  the  ends  and 
one  side  ;  a  wire  is  fixed  to  each  end,  or  at  proper  places 
in  the  front,  by  which  it  can  be  drawn  over  the  ground 
by  a  pair  of  horses  or  oxen.  A  light  chain  or  rope  is 
fixed  so  as  to  drag  upon  the  ground  a  foot  in  advance  of 


Fig.  31. — TRAP  FOR  CATCHING  LOCUSTS. 


the  front  of  the  sheet-iron,  by  which  the  locusts  are  dis¬ 
turbed  and  made  to  jump,  and  as  the  machine  is  moving 
on  at  the  same  time,  they  drop  upon  it.  A  thick  coat 
of  gas-tar  is  smeared  over  the  surface  of  the  iron,  in 
which  the  locusts  are  imbedded  and  stick  fast.  The  vig¬ 
orous  kicking  of  the  trapped  insects  helps  to  keep  tli6 
mass  stirred  up,  and  present  a  sticky  surface.  When 
the  trap  is  full,  the  locusts  are  raked  off  into  a  pile,  and 
set  on  fire  and  consumed.  This  machine  can  be  drawn 
over  young  wheat  without  injury,  as  it  is  not  heavy 
enough  to  break  it  down,  and  being  flexible,  conforms 
to  the  surface  of  the  ground  it  is  passing  over.  The  en¬ 
graving  shows  the  manner  of  preparing  the  sheet-iron 
for  this  purpose.  The  season  when  the  locusts  have 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


49 


formerly  damaged  the  newly  sprouted  wheat  is  in  the 
spring,  and  it  will  be  useful  for  many  Western  farmers  to 
know  of  this  cheap  and  effective  method,  which  is  not 
patented,  and  for  which  they  may  thank  a  farmer’s  wife 
of  more  than  usual  ingenuity  and  habits  of  observa¬ 
tion. 


SPREADING  MANURE. 

The  winter  is  a  good  season  for  spreading  manure. 
It  is  immaterial  whether  the  ground  is  covered  with 
snow  or  not,  or  whether  it  is  frozen  or  soft,  provided  it  is 
not  too  soft  to  draw  loads  over,  and  that  the  ground  is 
not  upon  a  steep  hill-side,  from  which  the  manure  may 
be  washed  by  heavy  rains  or  by  sudden  thaws.  We 
have  spread  manure  upon  our  fields  several  winters, 
and  always  with  advantage,  not  only  in  saving  labor  and 
time,  but  also  to  the  crops  grown  after  it,  more  espe¬ 
cially  to  oats  and  potatoes.  In  spreading  the  manure,  it 


Fig.  32.— WAGON  WITH  KAISED  BOX. 

is  the  best  to  drop  it  in  heaps,  leaving  it  to  be  spread  by 
a  man  as  soon  as  possible  afterwards.  This  maybe  done 
most  readily  by  using  a  manure  hook,  wfith  which  the 
manure  is  drawn  out  of  the  sled  or  wagon-box.  Sloping 
3 


bo 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


wagon-beds  are  used  for  hauling  various  heavy  materials, 
and  why  should  they  not  be  used  for  this,  the  heaviest 
and  most  bulky  load  a  farmer  has  to  handle  ?  A  wagon, 
having  the  box  raised  (figure  32),  so  that  the  forward 
wheels  could  pass  beneath  it,  would  be  very  convenient 
on  a  farm.  It  could  be  turned  in  its  own  length,  and 
handled  with  vastly  greater  facility  than  the  ordinary 
farm  wagon,  which  needs  a  large  yard  to  be  turned  in. 
Such  a  wagon  could  be  unloaded  with  great  ease  and 


Fig.  33.  — MANNER  OF  SPREADING. 

very  rapidly  by  the  use  of  the  hook,  and  in  case  it  was 
desired  to  spread  the  load  broadcast  from  the  wagon, 
that  could  be  done  perfectly  well.  But  to  do  this  keeps 
the  horses  idle  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  and  is  an 
unprofitable  practice.  Two  teams  hauling  will  keep  one 
man  busy  in  the  yard  helping  to  load,  and  another  in 
the  field  spreading ;  the  work  will  then  go  on  without 
loss  of  time.  In  dropping  the  heaps,  they  may  be  left 
in  rows,  one  rod  apart,  and  one  rod  apart  in  the  row  • 
each  load  being  divided  into  eight  heaps.  This  will  give 
twenty  loads  per  acre.  If  ten  loads  only  are  to  bespread, 
the  rows  should  be  one  rod  apart,  and  the  heaps  two 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


51 


rods  apart  in  the  rows.  In  spreading  the  manure,  it 
should  be  done  evenly,  and  the  heaps  should  not  be 
made  to  overlap.  If  there  is  one  heap  to  the  square  rod, 
it  should  be  thrown  eight  feet  each  way  from  the  centre, 
covering  a  square  of  sixteen  and  one  half  feet,  as  shown  in 
figure  33.  One  heap  then  is  made  to  join  up  to  another, 
and  the  whole  ground  is  equally  manured.  There  is 
more  in  this  point  than  is  generally  supposed  by  farm¬ 
ers,  many  of  whom  are  careless  and  wasteful  in  this  re¬ 
spect,  giving  too  much  in  some  places,  and  too  little  in 
others.  The  consequence  is  uneven  growth  over  the 
field,  rusted  grain,  or  perhaps  laid  straw  in  some  places, 
and  in  others  a  half-starved  crop.  Another  important 
point  in  spreading  is,  to  break  up  the  lumps,  and  scatter 
the  fine  manure.  Unless  this  is  done,  the  field  cannot 
be  evenly  fertilized.  There  is  work  about  this,  which 
would  tempt  some  hired  men  to  neglect  it,  but  it  should 
not  only  be  insisted  upon,  but  looked  to,  and  its  per¬ 
formance  insured. 


PUTTING  AWAY  TOOLS. 

The  wearing  out  of  farm  implements  is,  as  a  rule,  due 
more  to  neglect  than  to  use.  If  tools  can  be  well  taken 
care  of,  it  will  pay  to  buy  those  made  of  the  best  steel, 
and  finished  in  the  best  manner  ;  but  in  common  hands, 
and  with  common  care,  such  are  of  little  advantage. 
Iron  and  steel  parts  should  be  cleaned  with  dry  sand  and 
a  cob,  or  scraped  with  a  piece  of  soft  iron,  washed  and 
oiled  if  necessary,  and  in  a  day  or  two  cleaned  off  with 
the  corn-cob  and  dry  sand.  Finally,  paint  the  iron  part 
with  rosin  and  beeswax,  in  the  proportion  of  four  of 
rosin  to  one  of  wax,  melted  together  and  applied  hot. 
This  is  good  for  the  iron  or  steel  parts  of  every  sort  of 
tool. 


52 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


Wood-  work  should  be  painted  with  good,  boiled,  linseed 
oil,  white  lead  and  turpentine,  colored  of  any  desired 
tint ;  red  is  probably  the  best  color.  Keep  the  cattle 
away  until  the  paint  is  dry  and  hard,  or  they  will  lick, 
wfith  death  as  the  result.  If  it  is  not  desired  to  use  paint 
on  hand  tools,  the  boiled  oil,  with  turpentine  and  “liquid 
drier,”  does  just  as  well.  Many  prefer  to  saturate  the 
wood-work  of  farm  implements  with  crude  petroleum. 
This  cannot  be  used  with  color,  but  is  applied  by  itself, 
so  long  as  any  is  absorbed  by  the  pores  of  the  wood. 


SELF-CLOSING  DOORS. 

A  self-opening,  rolling  door  is  shown  in  figure  34.  A 
half-inch  rope,  attached  to  a  staple  driven  into  the  upper 
edge  of  the  door,  passes  parallel  with  the  track,  and  be- 


Fig.  34.— SELF-CLOSING  SLIDING  DOOR. 


yond  the  boundary  of  the  door  when  open,  over  a  small 
grooved  pulley  and  thence  downward ;  a  weight  is  at¬ 
tached  to  its  end.  The  door  is  shown  closed,  and  the 
weight  drawn  up.  As  the  door  is  a  self-fastening  one, 
when  the  fastening  is  disengaged  the  weight  will  draw 
the  door  open.  By  a  string  or  wire  connected  to  the 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


53 


fastening,  the  door  may  be  opened  while  standing  at  any 
part  of  the  building,  or  if  one  |i 
end  be  attached  to  a  post  outside,  1 
near  the  carriage  way,  the  door 
may  be  opened  without  leaving 
the  vehicle,  a  desirable  plan,  espe¬ 
cially  during  inclement  weather. 

The  weight  and  pulleys  should 
be  located  inside  the  building, 
but  are  shown  outside  to  make 
the  plan  more  readily  understood. 

By  attaching  the  rope  to  the  op¬ 
posite  side  of  the  door,  it  may  be 
made  self-closing  instead  of  self¬ 
opening,  as  thought  most  convenient.  The  manner  of 
closing  a  swing-door,  as  in  figure  35,  is  so  clearly  shown 
as  to  need  no  description. 


Fig.  35. — swin  G-Dooii. 


VENTILATORS  FOR  FODDER  STACKS. 

The  perfect  curing  of  fodder  corn  is  difficult,  even 
with  the  best  appliances  ;  as  usually  done,  the  curing  i 
Very  imperfect.  The  fodder  corn  crop  is  one  that  merits 

not  only  the  best  preparation  of 
the  ground  and  the  best  culture, 
but  it  is  worthy  of  special  care 
in  harvesting  and  curing.  The 
French  farmers  are  giving  much 
attention  to  this  crop,  and  by 
good  culture  are  raising  most 
extraordinary  and  very  profifc- 
Fig.  36.— frame.  able  yields.  Seventy  tons  per 

acre  is  not  unfrequently  grown  by  the  best  farmers.  We 
do  not  average  more  than  eight  tons  per  acre,  yet  with 


54 


FARM  CONVENIENCES, 


us  the  corn  crop  may  be  grown  under  the  most  favorable 
circumstances.  In  a  few  instances,  a  yield  of  thirty  tons 
per  acre  has  been  reached  by  one  farmer,  but  this  is  the 
highest  within  our  knowledge.  One  of  the  most  prom¬ 
inent  defects  in  ordinary  American  agriculture  is,  the 
neglect  with  which  this  easily  grown  and  very  valuable 
crop  is  treated  ;  and  one  of  the  most  promising  improve¬ 
ments  in  our  advancing  system  of  culture  is,  the  attention 
now  being  given  to  fodder  corn.  A  drawback  under 
which  we  labor  is  the  difficulty  of  curing  such  heavy 
and  succulent  herbage ;  this,  however,  will  by  and  by 
be  removed,  both  by  the  adoption  of  the  French  system 
of  ensilage,  and  by  better  methods  of  drying  the  fodder. 
On  the  whole,  the  system  of  ensilage  offers  by  far  the 

greatest  advantages ;  the  fodder 
being  preserved  in  a  fresh  and  suc¬ 
culent  condition,  and  the  labor  of 
preparing  the  silos,  cutting  the 
stalks,  and  properly  protecting 
them  from  the  atmosphere,  being 
actually  no  more  than  that  of  dry¬ 
ing  the  crop  in  the  usual  manner, 
storing  it  in  stacks,  and  cutting  it 
afterwards  for  use  when  it  is  needed. 
It  is  impossible,  however,  that 
even  the  best  improvements  can 
be  introduced  otherwise  than  slow¬ 
ly  and  with  caution ;  the  old  sys¬ 
tem,  although  it  may  be  less 
effective  and  profitable  than  the 
Fig.  37.— ventilator,  new,  will  be  long  retained  by 
many ;  and  even  in  the  old  methods  improvements  are 
being  made  from  season  to  season  by  the  ingenuity  of 
farmers.  We  recently  saw  a  very  simple  but  useful  ar¬ 
rangement  for  the  ventilation  of  stacks,  and  mows  in 


FA11M  CONVENIENCES. 


55 


barns,  which  is  applicable  to  the  curing  of  corn  fodder. 
It  consists  of  a  frame,  figure  36,  made  of  strips  of  wood, 
put  together  with  small  carriage  bolts.  The  strips  may 
be  made  of  chestnut,  pine,  or  hemlock,  the  first  being 
the  most  durable  and  best,  two  inches  wide  and  one  inch 
thick.  The  illustration  shows  how  these  strips  are  put 
together.  The  length  of  the  section  shown  may  be  three 
or  four  feet.  In  figure  37  is  seen  the  manner  in  which 
the  sections  are  put  together.  A  small  stack  may  have 
a  column  of  these  ventilators  in  the  centre  ;  a  large  one 
may  have  three  or  four  of  them  ;  in  a  mow  in  the  barn, 
there  may  be  as  many  as  are  needful,  two  or  three,  or 
more,  as  the  case  may  be.  When  made  in  this  shape, 
they  are  so  portable,  and  easy  to  use,  that  the  greatest 
objections  against  ventilators  are  removed.  In  stacking 
fodder  corn,  it  is  safest  to  make  the  stacks  small.  Three 
of  these  sections,  placed  together  in  one  column,  are 
sufficient  for  a  stack  containing  three  tons,  and  which 
would  be  about  fourteen  feet  high.  The  sheaves  should 
be  small,  and  the  stack  somewhat  open  at  the  bottom, 
so  as  to  freely  admit  currents  of  air.  The  top  of  the 
stack  should  be  well  protected  to  keep  out  the  rain  ;  a 
hay  cap  fastened  over  the  top  would  be  very  effective 
for  this.  If  a  quantity  of  dry  straw  could  be  thrown  in 
between  the  bundles,  and  on  the  top  of  each  layer  of 
them,  the  perfect  curing  of  the  fodder  would  be  then 
secured. 


CORN-MARKER  FOR  UNEVEN  GROUND. 

The  corn-marker,  shown  in  figure  38,  is  so  construct- 
ed  that  it  will  readily  accommodate  itself  to  uneven 
ground.  It  consists  of  two  pieces  of  plank,  these  form 
the  middle  set  of  runners.  Upon  these  pin  two  straight 
pieces  of  two  by  four  scantling,  with  each  end  project- 


56 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


ing  over  the  runner  six  inches  ;  through  these  ends  are 
bored  holes  for  a  four-inch  rod.  Two  other  pieces  of 
plank,  like  the  former,  are  procured,  and  one  end  of  two 
other  pieces  of  scantling  are  pinned  to  each  runner  ;  then 
these  beams  are  connected  to  the  middle  pair  by  the 


Fig.  38. — FLEXIBLE  CORN-MAKKEli. 


bolts,  as  seen  in  the  engraving,  so  that,  while  one  runnel 
is  on  high  ground,  the  other  may  be  in  the  land  furrow. 
In  turning  around,  the  two  outside  runners  may  be 
,  turned  up  against  the  seat. 


A  HOME-MADE  HARROW. 

The  harrow,  figure  39,  is  a  square  one.  The  teeth 
are  set  twelve  inches  from  centre  to  centre,  each  way. 
There  are  four  beams  in  each  half,  and  five  teeth  in  each 
beam.  These  beams  are  four  feet  eight  inches  long, 
mortised  into  the  front  piece,  which  is  three  feet  seven 
inches  in  length.  The  rear  ends  of  the  beam  are  se¬ 
cured  by  a  piece  of  timber,  two  by  one  and  a  half  inches, 
halved  on  to  the  beams  and  then  bolted.  The  harrow 
is  made  of  two  and  a  half  by  two  and  a  half-inch  scant¬ 
ling,  using  locust  wood,  because  of  its  great  durability 
and  firmness.  There  is  nothing  particularly  new  about 
this  harrow,  except  that  it  is  larger  than  common,  and 
the  novel  way  of  hitching  to  it  by  which  it  is  kept  steady. 


£arm  conveniences. 


57 

The  teeth  can  be  made  to  cut  six  inches  or  one  inch 
apart.  The  manner  of  hitching  is  shown  in  the  engrav¬ 
ing.  The  draw-bar  is  made  of  three-eighths  by  one  and 
three-quarter  iron,  three  feet  four  inches  in  length. 


Fig.  39. — AN  EXCELLENT  HARROW. 


The  chain  is  attached  to  this  by  a  hook  at  one  end,  the 
other  being  fastened  to  the  harrow  by  a  staple.  The 
chain  is  about  two  feet  long.  The  entire  cost  is  about 
twelve  dollars. 


CLEARING  LAND  BY  BLASTING. 

The  explosive  used  is  dynamite  or  giant  powder.  It 
is  a  mixture  of  nitro-glycerine  with  some  absorbents,  by 
which  this  dangerously  explosive  liquid  is  made  into  a 
perfectly  safe  solid  substance,  of  a  consistence  and  ap¬ 
pearance  not  unlike  light-brown  sugar.  It  is  not 
possible  to  explode  dynamite  by  ordinary  accident,  nor 
even  by  the  application  of  a  lighted  match.  A  quantity 
of  it  placed  upon  a  stump  and  fired  with  a  lighted 
match,  burns  away  very  much  as  a  piece  of  camphor 
or  resin  would  do,  with  little  flame  but  much  smoke, 
and  boils  and  bubbles  until  only  a  crust  is  left.  There 
is  not  the  least  danger,  therefore,  of  igniting  the  pow- 
3* 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


58 


der  dangerously,  until  properly  placed  for  the  61ast.  In 

this  respect  it  has  a  very  great  advan¬ 
tage  over  ordinary  blasting  powder, 
which  may  be  exploded  by  a  spark. 
The  powder,  as  it  is  manufactured,  is 
made  into  cartridges  about  eight 
inches  in  length,  and  of  any  required 
diameter.  The  cartridges  are  wrap¬ 
ped  in  strong  parchment  paper,  cover¬ 
ed  with  paraffine,  and  the  true  form 
is  shown  at  figure  40.  They  are  fired 
by  a  cap  (also  in  figure  40),  which  is 
inserted  into  the  end  of  the  cartridge. 
The  fuse,  which  is  of  the  common 
kind,  is  inserted  into  the  open  end 
of  the  cap,  which  is  pinched  close  upon  it  with  a  small 
pair  of  pliers,  so  as  to  hold  it  firmly.  The  cartridge 


Fig.  40.  Fig.  41. 


is  then  opened  at  one  end,  the  cap  with  the  fuse  at¬ 
tached  inserted,  and  the  paper  tied  tightly  around 


FAEM  conveniences. 


59 


fuse,  with  a  piece  of  twine.  The  cartridge  ready  for 
firing  is  shown  at  figure  41. 

Our  first  operation  was  upon  a  green  white-oak  stump, 
thirty  inches  in  diameter,  with  roots  deeply  bedded  in 
the  ground.  To  have  cut  and  dug  out  this  stump  with 
axe  and  spades  would  have  been  a  hard  day’s  work  for  two 
or  more  good  men.  The  shape  of  the  stump  is  shown 
at  figure  42.  A  hole  was  punched  beneath  the  stump, 
as  shown  in  the  figure,  with  an  iron  bar  (figure  43),  so  as 
to  reach  the  centre  of  it.  Two  of  the  cartridges 
were  placed  beneath  the  stump,  and  were  tamped 
with  some  earth  ;  a  pail  of  water  was  then  poured 
into  the  hole,  which  had  the  effect  of  consolidating 
the  earth  around  the  charge.  The  fuse  was  then 
fired.  The  result  was  to  split  the  stump  into 
numerous  fragments,  and  to  throw  it  entirely  out 
of  the  ground,  leaving  only  a  few  shreds  of  roots 
loose  in  the  soil.  The  result  is  shown  in  figure  44, 
on  the  next  page  ;  the  fragments  of  the  stump  in  the 
engraving  were  thrown  to  a  distance  of  thirty  to  fifty 
feet,  and  many  smaller  ones  were  carried  over  one 
hundred  feet.  The  quantity  of  powder  used  was  less 
than  two  pounds.  A  portion  of  the  useful  effect 
produced  by  the  explosion,  consisted  in  the  tearing 
of  the  stump  into  such  pieces  as  could  easily  be  sawed 
up  into  fire- wood  ;  by  which  much  after-labor  in 
breaking  it  up,  when  taking  it  out  in  the  usual  man¬ 
ner,  was  saved.  This  test  was  perfectly  successful, 
and  proved  not  only  the  thorough  effectiveness  of 
this  method,  but  its  economy  in  cost  and  in  time. 
Several  other  stumps  were  taken  out  in  the  same  man¬ 
ner  ;  the  time  occupied  with  each  being  from  five  to  ten 
minutes.  Smaller  stumps  were  thrown  out  with  single 
cartridges,  and  in  not  one  case  was  anything  left  in  the 
ground  that  might  not  be  turned  out  with  the  plow,  or 


1=5= 

Fig:. 

43. 


Fig.  45. — THE  ROCK  AS  IT  WAS. 

«hown  in  figure  45.  A  hole  was  made,  with  the  bar,  in 
the  ground  beneath  the  rock,  and  three  cartridges  were 


one  hundred  and  fifty  cubic  feet,  weighing  about  ten 
tons.  The  shape  of  the  rock  before  the  explosion  is 


60  tARM  COKVEXTFtfCES. 

that  would  interfere  with  the  plowing  of  the  ground* 
The  explosive  was  then  tried  upon  a  fast  rock,  of  about 


Fig.  44. — THE  EFFECT  OF  BLASTING  THE  STUMP. 


FARM  CONVEKIEKCES, 


61 


Inserted  and  exjoloded.  To  have  produced  this  result 
(shown  in  figure  46),  by  the  ordinary  method,  that  was 
here  done  in  a  few  minutes  by  one  man,  would  have 
occupied,  at  least,  two  men,  with  drills,  sledge,  etc.,  two 
or  three  days.  The  application  of  this  method  is  seen 
to  be  of  great  value  where  the  saving  of  time  is  an 
object.  An  acre  of  stumps  or  rocks  may  be  cleared  in 
one  day  by  one  or  two  men,  and  the  material  left  ready 


Fig.  46. — THE  ROCK  AFTER  BLASTING. 


for  use  as  fire-wood,  or  as  stones  for  fences  or  buildings. 
The  cost  in  money  is  also  reduced  in  some  cases  very 
considerably,  and  almost  absolute  safety  to  the  careful 
operator  is  insured.  It  would  be  generally  advisable  to 
secure  the  services  of  an  expert,  and  that  the  parties  who 
have  work  of  this  character  to  be  performed,  should 
jointly  engage  such  a  man,  who  could  either  do  the  whole 
work,  or  do  it  in  part,  and  instruct  a  foreman  or  skilful 


FAKM  COXVEKIEKCES. 


S3 

workman  sufficiently  in  a  day  to  perform  the  remainder: 
The  most  favorable  seasons  for  operating  upon  stumps 
and  rocks  are  fall  and  spring,  when  the  ground  is 
saturated  with  water.  It  should  be  explained  that  this 
explosive  is  not  injured  by  water,  although  a  long-con¬ 
tinued  exposure  to  it  would  affect  some  qualities  of  it. 


PREVENTABLE  LOSSES  ON  THE  FARM. 

It  is  a  “ penny  wise  and  pound  foolish”  system,  to 
breed  from  scrub  stock.  There  is  not  a  farmer  in  this 
region  who  has  not  access  to  a  pedigreed  Shorthorn  bull, 
by  a  payment  of  a  small  fee  of  two  to  five  dollars,  and 
yet  we  find  only  one  animal  in  ten  with  Shorthorn  blood. 
It  is  a  common  practice  to  breed  to  a  yearling,  and  as  he 
is  almost  sure  to  become  breechy,  to  sell  him  for  what  he 
will  bring  the  second  summer.  Many  farmers  neglect 
castrating  their  calves  until  they  are  a  year  old.  We 
think  ten  per  cent,  are  thus  permanently  injured,  must 
be  classed  as  stags,  and  sold  at  a  reduced  price.  Fully 
half  the  calves  so  stunted  never  recover. 

With  many,  the  starving  process  continues  through 
the  entire  year.  They  are  first  fed  an  insufficient  quan¬ 
tity  of  skim  milk  ;  then  in  July  or  August,  just  at  the 
season  when  flies  are  at  their  worst,  and  pastures  driest, 
they  are  weaned,  and  turned  out  to  shift  for  themselves, 
and  left  on  the  pastures  until  snows  fall,  long  after  the 
fields  yield  them  a  good  support.  They  are  wintered 
without  grain,  spring  finds  them  poor  and  hide-bound, 
and  the  best  grazing  season  is  over  before  they  are  fairly 
thrifty. 

The  keeping  of  old  cows  long  past  their  prime  is  an¬ 
other  thing  which  largely  reduces  the  profits  of  the  far¬ 
mer.  We  have  found  quite  a  large  per  cent,  of  cows. 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


63 


whose  wrinkled  horns  and  generally  run-down  condition 
show  that  they  have  long  since  passed  the  point  of  profit. 
A  few  years  ago,  these  cows  would  have  sold  at  full  prices 
for  beef,  now  they  will  sell  only  for  Bologna  at  two  cents 
per  pound.  Thus  cows  have,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  been 
kept,  not  because  they  were  favorites,  or  even  because 
they  were  profitable,  but  from  sheer  carelessness  and 
want  of  forethought.  Another  fruitful  cause  of  loss  to 
the  farmer  is,  attempting  to  winter  more  stock  than  he 
has  feed  for.  Instead  of  estimating  his  resources  in  the 
fall,  and  knowing  that  he  has  enough  feed  even  for  a 
hard  winter,  he  gives  the  matter  no  thought,  and  March 
finds  him  with  the  choice  of  two  evils,  either  to  sell 
stock,  or  buy  feed.  If  he  chooses  the  former,  he  will 
often  sell  for  much  less  than  the  animals  would  have 
brought  four  months  earlier,  and  if  the  latter,  will  usually 
pay  a  much  higher  price  for  feed  than  if  it  had  been 
bought  in  autumn.  Too  often  he  scrimps  the  feed, 
hoping  for  an  early  spring,  and  so  soon  as  he  can  see  the 
grass  showing  a  shade  of  green  around  the  fence  rows,  or 
in  some  sheltered  ravine,  turns  his  stock  out  to  make 
their  own  living.  This  brings  one  of  the  most  potent 
causes  of  unprofitable  cattle  raising  ;  namely,  short  pas¬ 
tures.  The  farmer  who  is  overstocked  in  winter,  is  al¬ 
most  sure  to  turn  his  cattle  on  his  pastures  too  early  in 
the  spring,  and  this  generally  results  in  short  pasture  all 
summer,  and  consequently  the  stock  do  not  thrive  as  they 
ought,  and  in  addition,  the  land  which  should  be  greatly 
benefited  and  enriched,  is  injured,  for  the  development 
of  the  roots  in  the  soil  must  correspond  to  that  of  the 
tops,  and  if  the  latter  are  constantly  cropped  short,  the 
roots  must  be  small.  The  benefit  of  shade  is  lost,  and 
the  land  is  trampled  by  the  cattle  in  their  wanderings  to 
fill  themselves,  so  that  it  is  in  a 'worse  condition  than  if 
a  crop  of  grain  had  been  grown  on  it.  From  all  these 


64 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


causes  combined,  there  is  a  large  aggregate  of  loss,  and 
it  is  the  exception  to  find  a  farm  on  which  one  or  more 
of  them  does  not  exist,  and  yet  without  exception  they 
may  be  classed  as  “  preventable, ”  if  thought  and  prac¬ 
tical  common  sense  are  brought  to  bear  in  the  manage¬ 
ment. 


A  CRADLE  FOR  DRAWING  A  BOAT. 

When  it  is  necessary  to  draw  a  boat  out  of  the  water, 
a  cradle  should  be  used.  This  is  very  easily  made  out 
of  some  short  boards  and  a  piece  of  plank.  The  boards 
are  cut  so  that  when  three  thicknesses  are  bolted  to¬ 
gether,  the  joints  shall  be  broken  and  not  come  opposite 


each  other,  as  shown  in  figure  47.  The  cradle  should  be 
made  to  fit  the  boat  tightly,  midway  between  stem  and 
stern,  so  that  when  it  rests  upon  it,  the  boat  will  be 
evenly  balanced  and  firmly  held.  The  cradle  is  mounted 
upon  two  wheels,  which  may  be  made  of  hard  wood 
plank.  A  piece  of  two-inch  plank  may  be  sawn  out  for 
the  axle,  and  the  upper  part  of  the  cradle  firmly  bolted 
to  it.  Such  a  cradle  as  this  may  be  made  light  or  heavy, 
and  if  desired  may  be  furnished  with  iron  wheels,  so  that 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


65 


it  will  sink  in  the  water.  It  can  then  be  run  clown  under 
the  boat,  and  that  be  drawn  upon  it.  By  hauling  upon 
the  ring-bolt  in  its  stern,  the  boat  can  be  drawn  up  out 
of  the  water,  and  easily  moved  on  land. 

When  it  is  desired  to  lift  a  boat  out  of  the  water,  and 
suspend  it  in  a  boat-house,  all  that  is  necessary  to  be 
done  is  to  fix  two  strong  hooks,  or  rings,  in  the  top  of 
the  house,  and  a  ring-bolt  at  each  end  of  the  boat.  A 
pair  of  double-sheaved  blocks  is  provided  for  each  end  of 
the  boat.  The  blocks  are  hooked  to  the  rings  in  the 
house  and  to  those  in  the  boat,  which  is  then  drawn  up, 
one  end  at  a  time,  alternately,  until  high  enough.  If 
two  persons  are  in  the  boat,  both  ends  may  he  hauled  up 
at  once.  The  loose  end  of  the  rope  is  fastened  to  the 
ring  of  the  boat,  or  to  a  ring  or  a  cleat  at  the  side  of  the 
boat-house.  Then  the  boat  remains  suspended  in  the 
boat-house. 


FEED-BACK  FOB  SHEEP. 

The  rack,  figure  48,  is  made  of  poles  for  the  bottom 


Fig.  48  —  FEED-RACK  FOR  SHEEP. 


and  top,  and  cross-bars  fitted  into  them.  The  bottom 
bar  slides  loosely  in  brackets,  which  are  fixed  to  the  wall 


66 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


of  the  shed,  and  the  upper  bar  is  secured  by  a  cord, 
which  passes  over  a  small  pulley  in  a  hole  in  the  wall 
above  the  rack  ;  a  weight  being  attached  to  the  outside 
end  of  the  rope,  serves  to  keep  the  rack  always  against 
the  wall.  When  the  hay  is  put  in  the  rack  is  drawn 
down,  and,  when  filled,  is  pushed  back  against  the  wall, 
holding  the  hay  closely,  and  being  kept  in  place  by  the 
weight.  This  prevents  the  hay  from  being  pulled  out  too 
freely  by  the  sheep  or  cattle.  It  is  recommended  that 
the  grain-trough  be  placed  beneath  a  rack  of  this  kind, 
so  that  the  chaff  which  falls  from  it  may  be  caught  in 
the  trough  and  saved  for  use,  instead  of  being  trampled 
under  foot. 


HOW  TO  MANAGE  NIGHT-SOIL. 

The  fertilizing  properties  of  night-soil  are  well  known. 
The  principal  reason  why  this  valuable  material  is  ne¬ 
glected  and  permitted  to  go  to  waste,  is  the  difficulty  of 
handling  it.  If  improperly  handled,  it  is  disagreeable 
and  difficult  to  apply  to  the  uses  to  which  it  is  best 
adapted.  There  are  many  cases  in  which  it  could  be 
made  use  of  very  conveniently,  if  rightly  managed.  In 
country  towns  and  villages  it  is  difficult  to  dispose  of  it, 
and  it  becomes  a  serious  nuisance  to  householders,  and 
a  detriment  to  the  public  health,  when  it  ought  to  be 
turned  to  profitable  uses.  In  some  other  countries  this 
refuse  matter  is  eagerly  collected  and  carefully  used  by 
the  farmers.  The  methods  employed  in  England,  Ger¬ 
many,  and  France  might  very  well  be  adopted  by  us, 
and  a  large  quantity  of  fertilizing  material  be  gathered. 
By  the  methods  there  in  use,  the  night-soil  is  easily 
handled  and  prepared  for  distribution  upon  the  land,  or 
for  mixing  in  composts.  Arrangements  are  made  with 
persons  in  towns  and  villages  who  wish  to  have  the  soil 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


67 


removed,  and  the  time  being  fixed  (this  is  always  in  the 
night,  from  wrhich  circumstance  the  name  given  to  the 
material  is  derived),  wagons  with  tight  boxes,  or  carts, 
are  sent  to  the  place.  Carts  are  mostly  used,  as  indeed 
they  are  in  Europe  for  most  of  the  farm  work.  The 
carts,  or  wagons,  carry  out  a  quantity  of  earth,  chopped 
straw,  ashes,  or  such  other  absorbent  as  may  be  conven¬ 
iently  procured,  and  some  sheaves  of  long  straw,  or  else 
the  ashes  or  other  absorbent  used,  which  is  frequently 
the  sweepings  and  scrapings  of  streets,  is  prepared  upon 
the  ground  or  near  by.  This  material  is  then  disposed 


Fig.  49. — PREPARING  NIGHT  SOIL. 


in  the  form  of  a  bank  enclosing  a  space  of  sufficient  size 
to  hold  the  night-soil,  as  shown  in  figure  49.  A  reserve 
heap  is  kept  to  be  mixed  with  the  night-soil  as  it  is  emp¬ 
tied  into  the  place  prepared  for  it.  Wheelbarrows  with 
tight  boxes  are  generally  used  to  convey  the  soil  from  the 
cesspool.  When  the  whole  has  been  removed  from  the 
cesspool,  the  cut  straw  is  mixed  in  and  the  banks  of  earth 
are  turned  over  upon  the  pile,  which  can  then  be  han¬ 
dled  with  shovels  or  forks,  and  is  ready  to  be  loaded  into 
the  wagon.  Some  of  the  long  straw  is  laid  in  the  bot¬ 
tom  of  the  wagon-box,  and  the  mixed  mass  is  thrown 
upon  it,  layer  after  layer  alternately  with  straw,  until 
the  top  of  the  wagon-box  is  reached.  It  is  most  con- 


68 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


venient  to  have  a  rack,  or  flaring  side-boards,  to  confine 
the  upper  part  of  the  load,  but  this  is  not  necessary  if 
the  loading  is  properly  done.  The  manner  of  loading 
the  top  is  as  follows  :  a  bundle  of  straw  is  spread  so  that 
half  of  it  projects  over  the  side  or  end  of  the  load.  A 
quantity  of  the  mixed  stuff  is  forked  on  to  the  straw,  the 
loose  projecting  ends  of  which  are  turned  back  onto  the 
load  when  more  is  laid  upon  it.  The  doubled  straw 
holds  the  loose  stuff  together,  which  might  else  be  shaken 
off  the  load  as  it  is  carried  home.  In  this  manner  the 
load  is  built  up  until  it  is  completed,  when  it  appears  as 


Fig.  50—  MANNER  OF  LOADING  NIGHT-SOIL. 

shown  in  figure  50.  Loads  thus  made  are  carried  many 
miles  without  losing  anything  on  the  journey,  and  the 
mass,  which  would  seem  to  have  no  coherence,  is  kept 
solidly  together.  Carts  are  sometimes  loaded  to  a  hight 
of  two  or  three  feet  above  the  side-boards,  and  are  made 
to  carry  a  load  for  three  horses.  By  this  management, 
this  material  is  no  more  disagreeable  than  ordinary  ma¬ 
nure,  and  the  work  of  moving  it  is  rendered  quite  easy. 

THE  USE  OF  LIME  IN  BLASTING. 

There  are  some  forces,  apparently  insignificant,  which 
act  with  irresistible  power  through  short  distances.  The 


FARM*  CONVENIENCES.  69 

expansion  of  water  in  freezing  is  a  force  of  this  kind. 
The  increase  in  bulk  in  changing  from  the  liquid  to  the 
solid  state  of  ice  is  only  about  one-tenth,  yet  it  exercises 
a  power  sufficient  to  break  iron  vessels  and  rend  the 
hardest  rocks.  Every  one  who  has  slaked  a  lump  of 
quicklime  by  gradually  pouring  water  upon  it,  has 
observed  that  the  first  effect  of  the  contact  between  the 
water  and  lime  is  to  cause  a  swelling  of  the  lump.  It 
generally  expands  and  takes  up  considerable  more  room 
than  before.  This  expansive  force  has  recently  been 
successfully  applied  to  coal  mining  in  England.  Pow¬ 
dered  quicklime  is  strongly  compressed  into  cartridges 
about  three  inches  in  diameter,  and  each  has  running 
through  it  a  perforated  iron  tube,  through  which 
water  can  be  forced.  These  cartridges  were  used  in  a 
coal  mine  in  place  of  the  usual  blasting  charge,  water 
was  forced  into  them,  and  the  expansion  of  the  lime 
threw  down  a  mass  of  coal  weighing  about  ten  tons, 
with  little  of  the  small  coal  made  with  the  usual  blast. 
The  exemption  from  danger  and  the  avoidance  of  smoke, 
have  caused  coal  mine  owners  to  regard  this  new  method 
with  favor.  Some  of  our  ingenious  reapers  may  find  a 
useful  hint  in  this. 


A  WATER  AND  FEED  TROUGH. 

A  supply  of  water  in  the  cow-stable  is  a  great  con¬ 
venience  ;  a  simple  arrangement  for  furnishing  it  to  the 
cows  in  their  stalls  may  be  made  as  follows  :  Sheets  of 
galvanized  iron  are  bent  to  form  a  trough,  and  fitted 
into  the  floor  joists  under  the  feed-box,  as  indicated  in 
figure  51,  making  a  trough  three  inches  deep  and  six¬ 
teen  inches  wTide.  The  flanges  on  each  side  are  nailed  to 
the  joists,  and  the  sheets  of  iron  riveted  together  at  the 


70  F. ARM  CONVENIENCES. 

ends,  and  made  water-tight  by  cement.  The  trough 
runs  the  entire  length  of  the  feed  floor,  and  is  supplied 
with  water  from  a  pipe,  pump,  or  hose ;  a  pipe  at  the 
other  end  carries  away  the  surplus  water  and  prevents 
overflow,  and  another  pipe  with  a  faucet  is  provided  for 
emptying  the  trough.  The  feed-box  is  built  over  the 


water  trough,  a  part  of  its  floor  being  a  trap — indicated 
by  dotted  lines  in  the  engraving — by  which  admission 
to  the  water  is  gained.  Before  opening  this  trap,  the 
manger  is  swept  clean  ;  and  if  there  were  no  other  advan¬ 
tage  than  this  compulsory  cleansing  of  the  mangers 
after  each  feeding,  it  would  be  sufficient  to  pay  for  the 
cost  of  constructing  such  a  watering  arrangement. 


THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  STALLS. 

It  is  rare,  even  in  these  days  of  progress,  to  see  a  well- 
arranged  stall  in  a  farmer’s  barn.  No  horse  stall  should 
be  less  than  six  feet  in  width,  nor  of  a  length  less  than 


FARM  CONVENTEHCES. 


71 


nine  feet.  This  affords  room  for  the  animal  to  lie  down 
and  rise  comfortably  without  bruising  hips  and  limbs, 
and  also  for  the  attendant  to  pass  in  and  out.  The 
partition  between  stalls  should  be  of  sufficient  bight  to 
prevent  playing,  biting,  and  kicking.  Racks  of  iron 
are  neat  and  serviceable.  The  horse  eats  its  food  from 
the  ground,  and  because  many  first  pull  out  a  greater 
portion  of  the  hay  from  the  rack,  we  shall  dispense  with 
the  rack  as  commonly  used,  and  substitute  a  single 
manger  which  serves  for  both  hay  and  grain. 

Whatever  may  be  the  foundation  of  the  stall,  whether 
of  brick,  stone,  cement,  clay,  or  wood,  it  should  have 
inclination  enough  to  carry  off  all  fluid.  Over  this 
place  a  flooring  composed  of  strips  of  plank,  four  inches 
in  width  by  two  inches  in  thickness,  with  an  inch  inter¬ 
vening  between  each  strip.  This  need  not  extend  more 
than  half  the  length  of  the  stall,  the  upper  portion  being 
compact.  The  essential  point  is  that  the  horse  shall 
stand  with  an  equal  weight  upon  all  the  extremities. 
This  custom  of  confining  a  horse  to  a  sloping  stall,  in 
one  position  sometimes  for  days,  is  a  cruel  one,  and  very 
detrimental  to  the  limbs  and  feet,  as  it  brings  about, 
sooner  or  later,  serious  affections  in  these  parts.  A 
loose  box  is  far  preferable  to  the  stall,  wherever  practi¬ 
cable.  Every  stable  or  barn  should  be  provided  with 
one  at  least,  in  case  of  sickness  or  accident.  By  the 
arrangement  of  a  floor  as  just  described,  the  bedding  is 
kept  dry  and  the  animal  clean  and  comfortable.  Litter 
should  be  always  kept  beneath  the  animal;  it  gives  an 
air  of  comfort  to  the  place  and  invites  to  repose  of  body 
and  limbs  by  day  and  night.  Stalls  for  both  horses  and 
cattle  should  be  of  sufficient  hight,  as  also  all  door  and 
passage  ways  about  a  barn.  Formerly,  it  was  the  cus¬ 
tom  to  build  in  such  a  way  that  no  horse,  and  not  even 
a  man  of  respectable  hight  could  enter  a  door-way  with- 


72 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


out  danger  of  knocking  his  skull,  and  inflicting  serious 
injury.  There  are  stalls  in  country  barns  so  low  that  a 
horse  cannot  throw  up  his  head  without  receiving  a 
blow  against  the  beams  above.  Animals  undoubtedly 
acquire  the  trick  of  pulling  back,  or  of  making  a  sud 
den  spring  when  passing  a  door-way,  from  having  been 
obliged  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  some  narrow,  low,  ill- 
contrived  passage-way.  The  man  who  should  now  be 
guilty  of  building  in  this  way  would  deserve  to  have  his 
own  brains  knocked,  every  time  he  passes  in  and  out,  as 
a  gentle  reminder  of  his  folly.  All  barn-dcors  should 
be  high,  wide,  and,  when  practicable,  always  slide. 

The  common  mode  of  securing  cattle  in  the  barn, 
especially  milch  cows,  by  placing  their  necks  between 
stanchions,  is  not  to  be  advocated,  especially  when  they 
are  confined  in  this  way  for  many  hours  at  a  time  with¬ 
out  relief,  as  is  often  necessary  in  the  winter  season.  A 
simple  chain  about  the  neck  with  a  ring  upon  an  upright 
post  affords  perfect  security,  while  it  gives  the  animal 
freedom  of  movement  to  head  and  limbs — and  conduces 
to  its  comfort  in  various  other  ways.  Animals  should 
not  be  overcrowded,  as  is  too  often  the  case  in  large 
dairy  establishments — a  fact  which  will  make  itself 
evident  sooner  or  later  in  the  sanitary  qualities  of  the 
milk,  if  in  no  other  manner.  We  cannot  deny  the 
fact,  if  we  would,  that  everything,  however  trifling, 
that  contributes  to  the  welfare  of  our  domestic  animals 
is  a  gain  to  the  owner  of  them  pecuniarily,  and  what 
touches  a  man’s  pocket  is  generally  considered  to  be 
worth  looking  after,  at  all  times  and  in  all  places. 


HOG-KILLING  IMPLEMENTS— RINGING. 

The  stout  table  on  which  the  dead  porkers  are  lain  to 
be  scraped  and  dressed  after  being  scalded,  is  made  wiib 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


73 


its  top  curving  about  four  inches  in  a  width  of  four  feet* 
and  consisting  of  strips  of  oak  plank*  as  represented  in 
figure  52.  This  curved  top  conforms  to  the  form  of  the 


Fig.  52. — A  DRESSING  TABLE. 

carcass,  and  holds  it  in  any  desired  position  better  than 
a  flat  surface.  For  scrapers*  old-fashioned  iron  candle¬ 
sticks  are  used  ;  the  curved  and  sufficiently  sharp  edges 


Fig.  53.— HANDY  MEAT  CLEAVER. 


at  either  end  serving  as  well  as  a  scraper  made  for  the 
purpose,  and  its  small  end  has  an  advantage  over  the 
latter  for  working  about  the  eyes  and  other  sharp  de¬ 
pressions.  A  cleaver  for  use  in  cutting  up  the  pork  is 
shown  in  figure  53;  it  has  a  thirteen-inch  blade,  three 
inches  wide  at  the  widest  part,  and  one-quarter  inch 
thick  at  the  back.  This  is  a  convenient  implement,  easily 
and  cheaply  made  by  a  good  blacksmith,  if  it  cannot  be 
4 


74 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


had  at  the  stores  ;  any  mechanic  can  put  on  the  wooden 
handle.  In  figure  54  is  represented  a  home-made  hog¬ 
ringing  apparatus.  The  blacksmith  makes  an  instru¬ 
ment  resembling  a  horse-shoe  nail,  of  good  iron,  about 
three  inches  long,  three-sixteenths  of  an  inch  wide,  and 
one-thirty-second  of  an  inch  thick,  tapering  to  a  point ; 
the  “  head  ”  is  merely  the  broad  flat  end  curled  up. 


Fig,  54.— HOG-RINGER  AND  KEY. 


Just  before  using,  this  needle-like  instrument  has  its 
corners  rubbea  off  on  a  file  ;  it  then  is  easily  pushed 
through  the  septum  of  the  pig’s  nose.  A  key  with  its 
tongue  broken  off  and  a  slot  filed  in  the  end,  is  used  to 
curl  up  the  projecting  end,  and  the  ringing  is  done. 
The  “ rings”  cost  about  seventy-five  cents  a  hundred, 
and  are  effective  and  easily  applied. 


HOW  TO  MIX  CEMENT. 

The  article  to  he  used  is  the  Rosendale  cement. 
This  is  nearly  as  good  as  the  imported  Portland  ce- 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


73 


ment,  and  much  cheaper.  The  cement  is  made  from 
what  is  known  as  hydraulic  lime-stone — that  is  a  rock 
which  contains,  besides  ordinary  lime-stone,  some  clay,  sil¬ 
ica,  and  magnesia.  Pure  lime-stone  contains  only  lime 
and  carbonic  acid,  in  the  proportions  of  fifty-six  parts 
of  the  former  to  forty-four  of  the  latter  in  one  hundred. 
When  this  stone  is  burned,  the  carbonic  acid  is  driven 
off  by  the  heat,  and  pure  or  quick-lime  is  left.  When 
this  is  brought  in  contact  with  water,  the  two  combine, 
forming  hydrate  of  lime  ;  during  the  combination,  heat 
is  given  out ;  the  operation  is  called  slaking.  When  the 
water  is  just  sufficient  to  form  the  combination,  a  fine, 
dry  powder  is  produced,  which  we  call  dry  slaked-lime. 
When  the  water  is  in  excess,  the  surplus  is  mixed  me¬ 
chanically  with  the  lime,  and  forms  what  is  called  the 
milk  of  lime,  or  cream  of  lime,  according  to  its  consist¬ 
ence  ;  it  is  this  pasty  substance  which  we  mix  with 
sand,  to  form  building  mortar.  But  when  we  have  clay 
mixed  in  a  certain  proportion,  either  naturally  or  arti¬ 
ficially,  with  the  lime-stone,  and  this  stone  or  mixture 
is  burned  in  the  same  manner  as  ordinary  lime-stone,  we 
get  what  is  known  as  hydraulic  lime,  because  it  combines 
with  a  much  larger  proportion  of  water  than  pure  lime, 
and  in  combining  with  it,  instead  of  falling  to  powder, 
like  ordinary  lime,  it  hardens  into  stone  again.  This 
hardening  takes  place  even  under  water ;  the  hydraulic 
lime  combines  with  just  so  much  water  as  is  required  to 
“  set  ”  or  harden,  and  leaves  the  remainder.  It  pos¬ 
sesses  this  property,  also,  when  mixed,  with  sand  in  pro¬ 
per  proportions,  and  when  so  mixed,  the  cement  will 
adhere  very  firmly  to  the  surface  of  any  stone  to  which 
it  may  be  applied.  This  property  is  made  available  in 
constructing  works  of  concrete,  which  consists  of  broken 
stone  mixed  with  such  a  quantity  of  cement,  that,  when 
it  is  packed  closely,  the  surfaces  of  all  the  pieces  of 


76 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


stone  are  brought  into  contact  with  the  cement,  and  the 
spaces  between  the  fragments  of  stone  are  filled  with  it. 
That  there  may  be  no  more  cement  used  than  is  actually 
needed,  the  mixture  is  rammed  down  solidly,  until  the 
fragments  of  stone  are  brought  into  close  contact  with 


Fig.  55. — BOX  BOR  MIXING  CEMENT. 


each  other.  The  composition  of  the  impure  or  hydraulic 
/ime-stone,  which  behaves  in  this  useful  manner,  is,  in 
the  case  of  some  of  the  Kingston  stone,  as  follows  :  Car¬ 
bonic  acid,  34.20  per  cent.;  lime,  25.50;  magnesia,  12.35  ; 
silica,  15.37;  alumina  (clay),  9.13;  and  peroxide  of  iron 
(which  is  useless  or  worse),  2  25.  On  account  of  this 
difference  in  character  between  lime  and  cement,  a  dif¬ 
ferent  treatment  is  necessary  for  each,  and  each  is  put  to 
different  uses.  The  cement  makes  a  much  harder  and 
more  solid  combination  with  sand,  and  is  therefore  chosen 


when  great  strength  is  required.  Its  rapid  setting,  when 
mixed  with  water,  also  requires  that  it  be  used  as  soon 
as  it  is  mixed,  and  renders  a  rapid  mixture  necessary. 
The  cement  and  sand  should,  therefore,  be  mixed  to¬ 
gether  dry,  and  very  thoroughly.  Four  parts  of  sand 


FARM  CONVENIENCES.  7l 

to  one  part  of  cement  are  the  proportions  generally  used. 
These  may  be  mingled  in  a  box  of  suitable  character, 
and  the  mass  is  so  spread  as  to  have  a  hollow  in  the  cen¬ 
tre,  into  which  water  is  poured.  The  sides  of  the  heap 
are  gradually  worked  into  the  water,  with  a  common 
hoe,  in  such  a  way  as  to  prevent  the  water  from  spread 
ing  about,  and  as  it  is  absorbed  more  water  is  poured 
in,  until  the  whole  is  brought  to  a  thin  semi-liquid  con¬ 
dition.  A  box  very  suitable  for  this  operation  is  shown 
in  figure  55.  This  is  made  of  pieces  of  plank,  prepared 
as  follows  :  The  side  pieces  are  shown  at  figure  56.  The 
end  pieces  are  made  with  tenons,  which  fit  in  mortises 
in  the  side  pieces,  and  the  frame  thus  made  is  held  to- 


Fig.  57. — MACHINE  FOR  MIXING  CEMENT. 


gether  by  keys  driven  into  the  holes  seen  in  the  tenons. 
The  bottom  planks  are  fastened  together  with  cleats,  so 
placed  as  to  receive  the  frame  and  fit  snugly.  Iron  bolts 
are  put  through  holes  in  the  cleats,  and  through  the 
holes  in  figure  56,  and  by  means  of  nuts  with  washers 
under  them,  the  whole  box  is  brought  firmly  together. 
Such  a  box,  after  having  been  used  for  this  purpose,  will 
be  found  very  useful  for  mixing  feed  in  the  barn,  or  for 
many  other  purposes,  and  may,  therefore,  be  well  made 


73 


EAliM  CONVENIENCES. 


at  the  first.  When  the  mortar  is  mixed,  the  broken 
stone  may  be  thrown  into  it,  beginning  at  one  side,  and 
the  whole  is  worked  up  thoroughly  with  the  hoe,  so  that 
every  piece  of  stone  is  coated  with  the  cement.  A 
machine,  that  is  easily  made,  may  be  used  for  this  mix¬ 
ing,  and  is  also  very  useful  for  mixing  ordinary  mortar 
for  building  or  plastering.  It  is  shown  in  figure  57.  It 
consists  of  a  box  set  upon  feet,  with  a  smaller  box  at¬ 
tached  at  the  rear  end,  having  an  opening  at  the  bottom 
where  the  mortar  is  seen  escaping,  and  a  shaft,  having 
broad,  flat  arms  on  it,  placed  at  a  somewhat  acute  angle 
with  the  line  of  the  shaft,  so  that  they  will  operate  as  a 
screw  to  force  the  mass  along  the  spout  and  out  of  it  at 
the  opening.  A  crank  handle  is  fitted  to  this  shaft,  and 
if  a  fly-wheel  can  be  borrowed  from  a  feed-cutter,  or  a 
corn-sbeller,  and  attached  to  the  shaft  as  shown,  so 
much  the  better.  The  materials  to  be  mixed  are  thrown 
into  the  box,  and  by  turning  the  handle,  the  whole  will 
be  thoroughly  incorporated  with  great  rapidity  and  ease. 


KINGING  AND  HANDLING  BULLS 

[Now  that  more  attention  is  given  to  improving  farm 
stock,  a  bull  is  kept  upon  nearly  every  large  farm.  The 
high-bred  bulls  are  spirited  animals,  and  are  exceedingly 
dangerous  if  the  utmost  caution  is  not  exercised  in  man¬ 
aging  them.  Experienced  breeders  are  not  unfrequently 
caught  unawares,  and  unceremoniously  lifted  over  the 
fence,  or  forced  to  escape  ingloriously  from  one  of  their 
playful  animals,  or  even  seriously  injured  by  the  vicious 
ones.  It  should  be  made  a  rule,  wherever  a  bull  is  kept, 
to  have  him  ringed,  before  he  is  a  year  old,  and  brought 
under  subjection  and  discipline  at  an  early  age,  while  he 
can  be  safely  and  easily  handled.  Some  time  ago  we  as¬ 
sisted  at  the  ringing  of  a  yearling  bull,  which  severely 


FARM  COKYEKIEKCES. 


79 


taxed  the  utmost  exertions  of  six  persons  with  ropes  and 
stanchions  to  hold  him.  A  slip  of  the  foot  might  have 
caused  the  loss  of  a  life,  or  some  serious  injuries.  To 
avoid  such  dangerous  struggles,  a  strong  frame,  similar 
to  that  in  figure  58,  in  which  to  confine  the  bull,  may 


be  used.  The  frame  consists  of  four  or  six  stout  posts 
set  deeply  in  the  ground,  with  side-bars  bolted  to  it, 
forming  a  stall  in  which  the  bull  can  be  confined  so  that 
he  cannot  turn  around.  The  frame  may  be  placed  in 
the  barn-yard  or  a  stable,  and  may  be  made  to  serve  as  a 
stall.  At  the  front,  a  breast-bar  should  be  bolted,  and 
the  upper  side-bars  should  project  beyond  this  for  eight¬ 
een  or  twenty  inches.  The 
forward  posts  project  above 
the  side-bars  some  inches. 

The  ends  of  these  posts,  and 
the  side-bars,  are  bored  with 
one-inch  holes,  and  at  the 
rear  of  the  frame  there  should 
be  tenons  or  iron  straps  to 
receive  a  strong  cross-bar,  to 
prevent  the  animal  from  es¬ 
caping  should  the  fastenings 
become  broken  or  loosened.  Fis-  59.— strap. 

The  bull,  led  into  the  frame,  is  placed  with  his  head 


60 


FARM  COKYEKIEMCES, 


oyer  the  breast-bar,  and  the  horns  are  tied  with  ropes 
an  inch  in  diameter  to  the  holes  in  the  bars  and  posts. 
He  is  then  secured,  and  his  head  is  elevated  so  that  the 
trochar  and  cannula  can  be  readily  used  to  pierce  the 
cartilage  of  the  nose,  and  the  ring  inserted  and  screwed 
together.  Before  the  ring  is  used,  it  should  be  tested 
to  ascertain  that  it  is  sound  and  safe. 

When  the  ring  is  inserted,  the  straps  shown  in  figure 
59  should  be  used,  for  the  purpose  of  holding  it  up  and 
out  of  the  way,  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  feeding  of 
the  animal  until  the  nose  has  healed  and  become  cal¬ 
loused.  The  straps  may  be  left  upon  the  head  perma¬ 
nently,  if  desired,  when  the 
front  strap  will  offer  a  con. 

-A- 

venient  means  of  catching 
him  by  the  staff,  when  neces¬ 
sary  to  do  so  in  the  field. 
The  staff  is  a  matter  of  the 
greatest  importance.  This 
should  be  made  of  the  tough¬ 
est  ash  or  hickory,  and  not 
less  than  five  feet  long.  With 
a  staff  of  this  length,  the 
herdsman  can  check  the  wild¬ 
est  bull,  and  by  resting  the 
butt-end  of  it  upon  the 
ground,  can  throw  the  ani¬ 
mal’s  head  up,  and  prevent 
him  from  approaching  too 
near.  The  hook  of  the  staff 
is  shown  of  two  kinds  in  figures  60  and  61.  One  is  fur¬ 
nished  with  a  spring,  by  which  it  is  closed.  A  metal 
bar  attached  to  the  spring  and  passing  through  a  hole  in 
the  staff,  prevents  the  ring  from  slipping  along  the 
spring.  The  other  is  provided  with  a  screw  by  which  it 
is  closed. 


f'AEM  CONVENIENCES. 


81 


SLED  FOR  REMOVING  CORN-SHOCKS. 

A  sled  used  for  moving  corn-shocks  from  a  field 
which  is  to  be  sown  with  winter  grain  is  shown  in  figure 
62.  It  is  simply  a  sled  of  the  most  ordinary  construc¬ 
tion,  and  which  any  farmer  can  build.  It  is  made  of 
two  joists  or  planks  of  hemlock,  though  oak  might  be 
better  ;  say  three  inches  thick,  a  foot  wide,  and  four¬ 
teen  to  sixteen  feet  long,  rounded  at  one  end  and  con¬ 
nected  by  three  strong  cross-pieces,  being  in  form  just 


Fig.  62. — SIDE  OF  SLED. 


such  a  sled  as  a  farmer  boy  would  make  to  use  in  the 
snow,  with  the  addition  of  cross  braces  before  and  be¬ 
hind.  The  under  edge  of  the  runners  should  be  rounded 
off  to  the  extent  of  one  and  a  half  to  two  inches,  to  turn 
more  easily.  There  should  be  also  short  standards  be¬ 
fore  and  behind.  The  runners  may  be  four  to  five  feet 
apart,  according  to  the  length  of  the  corn.  A  side  view 
of  the  runner  with  the  standards  is  given  in  figure  62, 


and  a  top  view  of  the  complete  sled  in  figure  63.  First, 
cut  off  the  corn  and  put  it  in  shocks  in  the  usual  way, 
making  the  shock  smaller  than  usual.  Let  it  stand  thus 
4* 


82 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


a  few  days  to  dry,  then  a  pair  of  horses  are  hitched  to  the 
sled,  which  is  driven  alongside  the  shock.  The  shock  is 
pushed  over  on  to  the  sled,  and  so  one  shock  after 
another  until  the  sled  is  full.  The  load  is  then  driven 
to  an  adjoining  field,  where  the  shocks  are  set  up  on  end 
again,  and  about  four  of  them  made  into  one  and  tied 
at  the  top,  or  reared  against  a  fence. 

The  particular  advantages  of  this  plan  are  :  First, 
that  by  use  of  the  sled  and  method  of  loading  and  un¬ 
loading  the  shocks,  all  actual  lifting  of  the  corn  is 
avoided,  and  the  labor  and  expense  reduced  more  than 
one-half.  Second,  by  permitting  it  to  dry  a  few  days,  its 
weight  is  greatly  reduced,  and  the  handling  much 
lighter.  Third,  the  corn  being  partially  dried,  it  can  be 
put  together  in  larger  shocks  the  second  time,  and  will 
keep  better.  By  this  method  one  man  can  clear  two  acres 
or  more  in  a  day,  according  to  the  weight  of  the  crop. 


A  TAGGING  TROUGH. 

Sheep  should  be  tagged  in  early  spring,  and  a  table 
for  this  purpose  is  shown  in  figure  64.  The  sheep  is 
placed  on  this  table  feet  upwards,  in  which  position  it  is 
perfectly  helpless,  and  will  not  struggle.  Then  the 
soiled  wool  about  the  hind  parts,  the  belly,  or  the  legs  is 
clipped  off  with  great  ease,  less  than  a  minute  being 
needed  to  tag  a  sheep.  Half  time  will  serve  for  some 
shearers  to  do  this.  In  large  flocks  these  tables  will  be 
necessary,  and  those  who  have  small  ones  will  find  them 
very  useful. 


LIME  AND  LIME  KILNS. 

The  periodical  use  of  lime  as  a  fertilizer  is  necessary 
to  good  culture.  In  the  best  cultivated  parts  of  the 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


83 


country,  lime  is  used  once  in  every  rotation  of  five  crops, 
the  usual  rotation  being  two  years,  grass,  corn,  oats, 
wheat,  or  rye,  seeded  to  grass  or  clover  again.  The  lime 
is  applied  to  the  land  when  it  is  plowed  for  the  fall  grain, 
and  is  harrowed  in  before  the  seed  is  drilled,  or  it  is  har¬ 
rowed  in  with  the  seed,  sown  broadcast.  The  quantity 
used  is  from  forty  to  fifty  bushels  per  acre.  The  effect 
of  lime  is  both  mechanical  and  chemical ;  it  opens  and 


Fig.  64. — THOUGH  FOR  TAGGING  SHEEP. 


loosens  heavy  clays,  and  consolidates  light,  loose,  sandy, 
or  peaty  vegetable  soils  ;  it  has  the  effect  of  liberating 
potash  from  the  soil,  and  of  decomposing  inert  organic 
matter,  and  reducing  it  to  an  available  condition.  But 
while  it  is  beneficial,  it  cannot  be  used  alone  without 
exhausting  the  soil  of  its  fertile  properties.  This  is  evi¬ 
dent  from  what  has  been  said  of  its  character  ;  at  least 
this  is  true,  so  far  as  regards  its  effects  beyond  affording 
directly  to  the  crops  any  lime  that  they  may  appropriate 
from  the  supply  thus  given.  All  the  benefits  received 
beyond  this  is  a  direct  draft  on  the  natural  stores  of  the 
soil.  It  is  therefore  necessary,  to  good  agriculture,  that 


84 


EAfUI  CONVENIENCES. 


either  a  thrifty  clover  sod  should  he  plowed  under,  at 
least  once  in  the  rotation,  or  that  a  liberal  dressing  of 
manure  he  given,  or  both  of  these.  In  those  localities 
where  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  the  skilful  use  of 
lime  are  best  known  and  appreciated,  this  method  is 
practised  ;  a  heavy  sod  being  plowed  under,  after  having 
been  pastured  one  year,  for  the  corn,  and  a  good  coating 
of  manure  being  given  when  the  land  is  plowed  for  fall 
grain.  Under  such  treatment,  the  soil  is  able  to  main¬ 
tain  itself  and  return  profitable  crops.  It  is  not  where 


Fig.  65. — IMPROVED  LIME  KILN  AVITH  ELEVATED  TRACK. 

this  course  is  pursued  that  complaints  are  prevalent  of 
the  unprofitableness  of  farming.  The  use  of  lime  is 
spreading  gradually  into  the  Western  States,  where  the 
competition  of  the  still  farther  and  fresher  western  fields 
is  being  severely  felt.  The  experience  of  Eastern  farm¬ 
ers  is  now  being  repeated  in  what  were  once  the  West¬ 
ern  States,  and  every  appliance  of  scientific  and  thorough 
agriculture  is  found  to  be  needed  to  maintain  those 
Western  farmers  in  the  close  contest  for  a  living.  This 
kiln,  figure  G5,  is  intended  to  stand  upon  level  ground, 
and  is  furnished  with  a  sloping  track,  upon  which  self- 


JFAKM  CONVENIENCES. 


85 


dumping  cars  containing  fuel  or  lime  may  be  drawn  up 
by  horse-power  with  a  rope  and  pulleys.  The  body  of 
the  kiln  may  be  twenty  feet  square  at  the  bottom,  and 
thirty  feet  high,  with  a  flue  above  the  stack  of  ten  to 
twenty  feet.  The  stack  may  be  built  of  stone  or  brick, 
but  should  be  lined  with  fire-brick  or  refractory  sand¬ 
stone.  The  arch  is  protected  by  the  shed  under  the 
track.  At  B,  B,  are  two  bearing  bars  of  cast-iron,  three 
by  two  inches  thick,  which  support  the  draw-bars,  0. 
These  are  made  of  one  and  a  half  inch  round  wrought 
iron,  having  rings  at  the  outer  end,  and  of  which  there 
are  four  to  the  foot  across  the  throat  of  the  kiln,  which 
is  four  or  five  feet  in  diameter.  The  rings  serve  to  ad¬ 
mit  a  crow-bar,  by  which  the  bars,  or  some  of  them,  are 
drawn  out  to  let  down  the  charge  of  lime.  The  open 
space,  D,  is  intended  for  the  insertion  of  the  bar  to 
loosen  or  break  the  lime,  should  the  throat  become  gorged. 
A  cast-iron  frame,  with  an  aperture  of  three  by  twenty- 
four  inches,  is  built  into  this  opening.  It  also  serves  to 
kindle  the  kiln,  and  is  closed  by  an  iron  door.  The  car 
should  be  made  of  wood,  and  lined  with  sheet-iron  ;  it  is 
hinged  to  the  front  axle,  and  hooked  to  the  draft-rope, 
so  that  when  the  fore-wheels  strike  the  block,  E,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  kiln,  the  car  tips  and  dumps  its  load.  The 
iron  door,  F,  which  closes  the  kiln,  is  raised  or  lowered 
by  means  of  the  rope  and  ring,  G,  which  passes  over  a 
pulley  fixed  upon  the  side  of  the  flue*  A  covered  shed 
will  be  needed  to  protect  the  top  of  the  stack,  and  a  gal¬ 
lery  should  be  made  around  it,  for  a  passage-way  for  the 
workmen.  This  kind  of  kiln  is  suited  only  for  the 
use  of  coal  as  fuel  ;  when  wood  is  used  for  burning 
the  lime,  common  pits  or  temporary  kilns  are  to  be 
constructed. 


86 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


FALL  FALLOWING. 

The  old  practice  of  summer  fallowing,  or  working  the 
soil  for  one  year  without  a  crop,  for  the  purpose  of  gain- 
inga  double  crop  the  second  season,  is  now,  very  properly, 
obsolete.  While  some  may  question  the  propriety  of  this 
opinion,  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  value  of  fall 
fallowing.  The  constant  turning  and  working  of  the 
ground  during  the  fall  months  cost  nothing  but  time 
and  labor,  at  a  season  when  these  cannot  be  otherwise 
employed,  and  so,  in  reality,  cost  nothing.  But  the 
benefits  to  the  soil  are  very  considerable.  Especially  is 
this  the  case  with  heavy  clay  soils,  and  less,  in  a  descend¬ 
ing  ratio,  through  the  gradations  from  heavy  clay  down 
to  light  loams — at  least  it  is  so  considered  by  many  ; 
and  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  if  the  atmospheric 
effects  upon  the  particles  of  a  clay  soil  serve,  to  some 
extent,  to  dissolve  the  mineral  particles,  they  may  easily 
do  the  same  service  for  a  sandy  soil,  and  help  to  set  loose 
some  of  the  potash  contained  in  the  granitic  or  feld- 
spathic  particles  of  such  a  soil.  The  mechanical  effects 
of  the  fall  working  are  certainly  more  useful  upon  clay 
than  a  light  loam  ;  but  there  are  other  purposes  to  serve 
than  merely  to  disintegrate  the  soil,  and  mellow  and 
loosen  it.  There  are  weeds  to  destroy,  and  the  forward¬ 
ing  of  the  spring  work  by  the  preparation  of  the  ground 
for  early  sowing.  These  services  are  as  useful  for  a  light 
soil  as  a  heavy  one,  and  as  it  is  reasonable  to  look  for 
some  advantage  from  the  working  in  the  way  of  gain  in 
fertility  on  light  as  well  as  heavy  soils,  it  is  advisable 
that  owners  of  either  kind  should  avail  themselves  of 
whatever  benefits  the  practice  affords.  Fall  fallowing 
consists  in  plowing  and  working  the  soil  with  the  culti¬ 
vator  or  the  harrow.  This  may  be  done  at  such  inter¬ 
vals  as  may  be  convenient,  or  which  will  help  to  start 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


87 


some  weeds  into  growth,  when  these  may  be  destroyed 
by  the  harrow  or  cultivator.  Heavy  soils  should  be  left 
in  rough  ridges  at  the  last  plowing,  with  as  deep  furrows 
between  them  as  possible,  in  order  to  expose  the  largest 
surface  to  the  effects  of  frost  and  thaw.  Light  soils  may 
be  left  in  a  less  rough  condition,  but  the  last  plowing 
should  be  so  done  as  to  throw  the  furrows  on  edge,  and 
not  flat,  leaving  the  field  somewhat  ridged.  A  very 
little  work  in  the  spring  will  put  the  ground  into  excel¬ 
lent  order  for  the  early  crops,  and  for  spring  wheat, 
especially,  this  better  condition  of  the  soil  will  be  of  the 
greatest  benefit.  When  thus  treated  in  the  fall,  the  soil 
is  remarkably  mellow,  and  is  dry  enough  to  work  much 
earlier  than  the  compact  stubble  land  which  remains  as 
it  was  left  after  the  harvest.  As  to  the  time  for  doing 
this  work,  the  sooner  it  is  begun,  and  the  oftener  it  is 
repeated,  the  better.  It  is  not  too  late  to  finish  when 
the  ground  is  frozen  or  there  is  an  inch  of  snow  on  the 
ground 


UNLOADING  CORN. 

Every  little  help  that  will  ease  the  troublesome  labor 
of  transferring  the  corn  crop  from  the  field  to  the  crib  is 


Fig.  66. — BOARD  FOR  UNLOADING. 

gratefully  accepted.  We  have  used  both  of  the  contri¬ 
vances  here  shown  (figures  66  and  67),  to  help  in  getting 


88 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


the  ears  out  of  the  wagon-box.  At  the  start  it  is  diffb 
cult  to  shovel  up  the  corn,  and  until  the  bottom  of  the 
wagon-box  is  reached,  the  shovel  or  scoop  cannot  be 
made  to  enter  the  load.  But  if  a  piece  of  wide  board  is 
placed  in  a  sloping  position,  resting  upon  the  tail-board 
of  the  wagon  (figure  66),  the  shovel  can  be  used  with  ease 


Fig.  67. — UNLOADING  ARRANGEMENT. 


at  the  commencement  of  the  unloading.  Another  plan 
is  to  make  the  box  two  feet  longer  than  usual,  and  place 
the  tail-board  two  feet  from  the  end,  figure  67.  When 
the  tail-board  is  lifted,  the  ears  slide  down  into  this  re¬ 
cess,  from  which  they  can  be  scooped  with  ease. 


STONE  BOATS. 

For  moving  plows,  harrows,  etc.,  to  and  from  th  fields, 


Fig.  68.— PLANK  STONE  BOAT. 

and  for  many  other  purposes,  a  stone  boat  is  far  better 
than  a  sled  or  wagon,  and  is  many  times  cheaper  than 


FARM  COHVEKIEKCES. 


89 


either.  Two  plans  of  construction  are  illustrated.  The 
boat  shown  in  figure  68  is  of  plank,  six  feet  in  length, 
one  foot  at  one  end  being  sawed  at  the  angle  shown. 
Three  planks,  each  one  foot  in  width,  will  make  it  of 
about  the  right  proportion.  A  railing  two  by  three 
inches  is  pinned  upon  three  sides,  while  a  plank  is 
firmly  pinned  at  the  front  end,  through  which  the  draw- 
bolt  passes.  That  shown  in  figure  69  has  some  advan- 


Fig.  69. — STONE  BOAT  WITH  RUNNERS. 


tage  over  the  former,  a  cheaper  quality  of  wood  and  of 
shorter  length  can  be  used,  and  when  one  set  of  runners 
is  worn  out,  others  can  be  readily  attached  without  de¬ 
stroying  the  frame.  Oak  or  maple  plank  should  be  used 
for  the  best  boats,  and  when  runners  are  used,  the  tough¬ 
est  wood  at  hand  should  be  selected.  Don’t  think  be¬ 
cause  it  is  only  a  stone  boat  it  is  not  worthy  of  being 
taken  care  of. 


A  DUMP-CART. 

The  dump-cart,  figure  70,  is  a  handy  contrivance,  a 
good  deal  used  in  some  parts  of  this  State,  and  is  simply 
an  ordinary  ox-cart,  the  tongue  shortened  and  fastened 
by  a  king  bolt  to  the  forward  axle  of  a  wagon,  as  shown 
in  the  engraving.  It  can  be  turned  very  short,  as  the 
wheels  have  a  clear  swing  up  to  the  cart-tongue,  and  is 
very  convenient  for  hauling  anything  that  is  to  be 
dumped :  such  as  stones,  earth,  wood;  manure,  etc. 


90 


FARM  CONVENIENCES, 


The  seat  of  an  old  mowing  machine  is  fastened  to  the 


Fig.  70. — IMPliOV-ED  DUMl'-CAKT. 


cart-tongue,  on  which  the  driver  sits.  Horses  or  oxen 
may  be  used. 


TO  PREVENT  WASHING  OF  HILL-SIDES. 

Much  damage  is  done  by  the  washing  of  hill-sides  into 
deep  gullies  by  heavy  rains.  Where  sloping  ground  is 
cultivated  this  is  unavoidable,  unless  something  is  done 
to  prevent  it.  In  some  cases  deep  plowing  and  loosen¬ 
ing  the  subsoil  will  go  far  to  prevent  washing,  as  it 
enables  the  water  to  sink  into  the  ground,  and  pass  away 
without  damage,  by  slow  filtration.  But  where  the  sub¬ 
sod  is  not  very  porous,  and  when  the  rain  falls  copiously 
and  suddenly,  the  water  saturates  the  surface  soil  in  a 
few  minutes,  and  the  surplus  then  flows  down  the  slope, 
cutting  the  softened  earth  into  many  channels,  which  by 
and  by  run  together.  Then  the  large  body  of  water 


I'Altti  CONVEKlEHCES. 


91 


possesses  a  force  which  the  soil  cannot  resist,  and  carries 
the  earth  down  with  it,  often  doing  serious  and  irre¬ 
parable  damage  in  an  hour  or  less.  Of  the  many  plans 
which  have  been  suggested  and  tried  to  prevent  this 
washing,  the  most  successful  is  the  terracing  of  the 
slope.  This  is  done  by  plowing,  with  a  swivel  plow, 
around  the  hill,  or  back  and  forth  on  the  slope,  com¬ 
mencing  at  the  bottom  and  throwing  the  earth  down¬ 
wards  in  such  a  manner  that  a  flat  terrace  is  formed, 
which  has  a  small  slope  backwards  from  the  front  of  the 
hill.  When  this  terrace  has  been  formed,  the  plowing 
is  commenced  ten  or  twelve  feet  above,  and  another 
terrace  is  made  in  the  same  manner.  This  is  continued 
to  the  top  of  the  slope.  If  thought  desirable,  the  inner 
furrows  on  each  terrace  may  be  made  to  form  a  water 
channel,  and  this  maybe  connected  with  the  channel  on 
the  next  slope  lower  down,  in  some  safe  manner,  either 
by  a  shute  of  boards  or  of  stone,  to  prevent  washing  of 
the  soil  at  these  points  where  the  fall  will  be  consider¬ 
able.  This,  however,  is  a  side  issue,  which  does  not 
necessarily  belong  to  the  main  work.  The  arrangement 
of  the  hill-side  is  shown  in  figure  71,  in  which  the 


Fig.  71. — PROFILE  OF  A  TERRACED  HILL. 


original  outline  of  the  hill,  and  the  arrangement  of  the 
terraces,  which  are  cut  out  of  it,  are  given.  When  a 
heavy  rain  falls  upon  the  terraced  hill,  the  effect  will  be 
to  throw  the  water  backwards  from  the  outer  slope,  into 
the  channels  at  the  rear  of  the  terraces  ;  and  there,  as 
well  as  upon  the  broad  surface  of  the  terraces,  there  is 


92 


FARM  CONVENIENCES, 


abundant  means  of  escape  by  sinking  into  the  soil.  If 
not,  and  the  amount  of  water  is  too  great  to  be  thus  dis¬ 
posed  of,  it  may  be  carried  down  the  slope,  uy  arranging 
the  furrows  as  drains  in  the  way  previously  indicated. 
Hill-sides  of  this  character  should  be  kept  in  grass, 
when  the  slope  is  too  steep  for  comfortable  plowing, 
after  it  has  been  thus  arranged  ;  or  it  may  be  planted 
with  fruit  trees,  vines,  or  timber,  upon  the  slopes,  leav¬ 
ing  the  terraces  to  be  cultivated,  or  the  slopes  may  be 
kept  in  grass,  and  the  terraces  cultivated.  But  in  what¬ 
ever  manner  the  ground  may  be  disposed  of,  it  would  be 
preferable  to  leaving  it  to  be  gullied  by  rains,  barren, 
useless,  and  objectionable  in  every  way. 


A  LOO  MINK-TRAP. 


A  mink-trap  is  made  by  boring  a  two-inch  or  two  and 


Fig.  72. — MINK- TRAP. 


a  half  inch  hole  in  a  log,  four  or  five  inches  deep,  and  into 
the  edges  of  this  hole  drive  three  sharpened  nails,  so  that 


EARM  CONVENIENCES. 


9a 


they  will  project  half  an  inch  or  so  inside,  as  shown 
in  figure  72.  The  bait  being  at  the  bottom,  the  mink 
pushes  his  head  in  to  get  it,  but  on  attempting  to  with¬ 
draw  it  is  caught  by  the  nails.  Musk-rat  is  good  bait 
for  them,  and  a  highly  praised  bait  is  made  by  cutting 
an  eel  into  small  bits,  which  are  placed  in  a  bottle  and 
hung  in  the  sun,  and  after  a  time  become  an  oily  and 
very  odorous  mass.  A  few  drops  of  this  are  used.  The 
above  simple  mink-trap  may  be  made  by  using  any  block 
of  wood,  or  a  stump  of  a  tree,  large  or  small,  and  the 
same  plan  may  be  made  use  of  to  trap  skunks,  or,  by 
using  a  small  hole  and  some  straightened  fish-hooks,  it 
will  serve  to  catch  rats  or  weasels,  enemies  of  the  rural 
poultry  yard,  which  may  be  thinned  off  by  the  use  of 
this  trap. 


PLOWING  FROM  THE  INSIDE  OF  THE  FIELD. 

There  is  but  one  reason  why  plowing  should  not  be 
done  from  the  inside  of  the  field,  and  that  is,  the  imag¬ 
inary  difficulty  in  “  coming  out  right.  ”  There  are  sev¬ 
eral  points  in  favor  of  this  method  :  When  a  field  is 
plowed,  beginning  at  the  outside,  there  is  always  a  dead 
furrow  running  from  each  corner  to  the  centre  ;  besides 
this,  the  team  is  obliged  to  run  out,  and  turn  upon  the 
plowed  land  at  every  corner,  making  a  broad  strip  which 
is  much  injured  by  the  treading,  especially  if  the  land 
is  clayey  and  rather  moist.  By  beginning  at  the  middle, 
all  this  is  avoided ;  the  horses  turn  upon  unplowed  land, 
and  the  soil  at  each  plowing  is  thrown  towards  the  cen¬ 
tre  of  the  field,  as  it  should  be.  There  is  no  difficulty 
in  finding  the  centre  of  the  field  from  which  to  begin 
the  plowing.  Suppose  we  have  a  rectangular  field  like 
the  one  shown  in  figure  73  ;  any  person  who  can  meas¬ 
ure  by  pacing,  is  able  to  find  the  middle  of  the  ends. 


94 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


A  D  and  B  C ;  the  points  K  and  L.  From  K,  pace 
towards  L}  a  distance  equal  to  one-half  A  D,  which  gives 
the  point  E.  Also  the  same  distance  from  L,  towards 
K ,  giving  F,  and  the  work  of  fixing  the  central  point  is 
done.  Kun  a  furrow  from  A  and  D  to  E,  and  from  B 
and  C  to  F ;  these  define  the  corners  and  assist  in  the 
turning  of  the  plow.  The  plowing  then  begins  by  back- 


Fig.  73. — PLAN  FOIi  RECTANGULAR  FIELD. 

furrowing  from  E  to  F;  plowing  on  the  ends  as  soon  as 
possible.  After  the  work  has  progressed  for  a  time,  as 
far  as  indicated,  for  example,  by  the  dotted  lines,  G,  H, 

/,  J,  pace  from  the  furrow 
to  the  outside  (see  dotted 
lines),  at  or  near  each  end  of 
the  furrow,  as  a  correction, 
and,  if  necessary,  gauge  the 
plow  until  the  furrow  on  all 
sides  is  equally  distant  from 
the  boundary.  When  the 
field  is  of  irregular  shape,  it 
is  not  difficult  to  begin  in 
the  centre  and  plow  outward 
— in  fact,  this  system  is  of 

Fig.  74.— PLAN  FOR  IRREGULAR  .  .  '  .  ,  . 

field.  most  importance  here,  be¬ 

cause  all  the  short  turning  in  the  middle  of  the  field, 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


95 


incident  to  the  irregularity  of  the  field,  comes  on  un- 
piowed  ground. 

In  figure  74  we  have  a  piece  of  very  irregular  shape. 
From  a  point  on  A  D,  at  right  angles  to  B,  pace  the 
distance  to  B,  and  place  a  stake  at  the  middle  point,  B. 
In  the  same  way,  determine  the  point  F  on  the  line 
N  D.  In  a  line  with  E ,  F,  measure  from  K  a  distance 
equal  to  M  E  (one-half  the  perpendicular  distance 
across  the  end  of  field),  and  also  in  like  manner 
determine  the  point  F — which  gives  the  central  line, 
E  F.  The  plow  should  be  run  from  the  four  corners,  as 
in  the  first  case,  to  make  the  corner  lines.  The  plow¬ 
man  will  use  his  judgment,  and  plow  only  upon  the 
lower  portion  at  first,  until  the  plowed  land  takes  the 
shape  6r,  //,  I,  J,  when  the  correction  is  made.  From 
this  time  on  the  furrow  runs  parallel  with  the  boundary, 
and  the  work  continues  smoothly  to  the  end. 


A  WIRE-FENCE  TIGHTENER. 

Having  occasion  recently  to  tighten  some  wires  in  a 
trellis,  we  made  use  of  the  following  contrivance.  Into 


a  small  piece  of  wood  a  few  inches  long  we  put  two 
screws  about  three  inches  apart,  and  near  to  one  end  one 
other  screw,  leaving  the  heads  projecting  about  half  an 
inch.  By  placing  the  wire  between  the  two  screws,  and 
turning  the  piece  of  wood  around,  the  wire  was  drawn 
tight ;  and  by  engaging  the  head  of  the  single  screw 
upon  it,  the  tension  was  maintained.  The  operation  of 


96 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


the  contrivance  is  shown  at  1,  and  the  method  of  arrang¬ 
ing  the  screws  or  pins  appears  as  2.  By  using  a  strong 
piece  of  wood  two  feet  long,  and  strong  iron  bolts,  fast¬ 
ened  with  nuts  upon  the  back  side,  this  device  may  be 
used  to  tighten  fence  wires. 


PLANTING  CORN— A  MARKER. 

What  would  be  thought  of  a  mechanic  who  should  rip 
his  boards  from  a  log  with  the  old-fashioned  whip  saw 
and  plane  them  or  match  them  by  hand,  or  who  should 
work  out  his  nails  on  the  anvil  one  at  a  time  by  hand 
labor  ?  He  would  hardly  earn  enough  to  find  himself 
in  bread  alone.  Yet  in  an  equally  old-fashioned,  costly, 
and  unprofitable  way  do  thousands  of  farmers  plant  and 
cultivate  their  corn  crops.  The  ground  is  plowed,  har- 


Fig.  76. — EUNNER  AND  TOOTH  FOR  MARKER. 

rowed  and  marked  out  both  ways,  either  with  the  plow. 

or  sometimes  by  a  quicker  method,  with  a  corn  marker. 

The  seed  is  dropped  by  hand  and  covered  by  hand  with 

a  hoe ;  the  crop  is  hoed  by  hand  or  plowed  in  the  old 

method,  leaving  the  ground  ridged  and  deeply  furrowed, 

so  that  in  a  drv  season  the  corn  suffers  for  want  of  moist' 
«/ 

are.  All  this  costs  so  much  that  the  farmer’s  laboi 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


9? 


brings  him  about  fifty  cents  a  day,  upon  which  he  lives, 
grumbling  that  “farming  does  not  pay.”  This  method 
would  be  ruinous  in  the  West  where  corn  is  a  staple  crop, 
and  that  it  is  not  so  in  the  East  is  simply  because  it  is 
not  grown  to  a  large  extent.  But  there  is  no  crop  that 
may  be  grown  so  cheaply  and  easily  in  the  East  that  pro¬ 
duces  so  much  feed  as  corn.  Fifty  bushels  of  corn  and 
four  tons  of  fodder  per  acre  contain  more  dry  nutriment 
than  thirty  tons  of  turnips  or  mangels,  and  may  be  grown 
with  less  labor  and  less  cost,  if  only  the  best  methods 
are  employed.  Now,  with  the  excellent  implements  and 
machines  that  are  in  use  for  planting  and  cultivating 
corn,  no  farmer  can  afford  to  work  this  crop  in  the  oid- 
f'ashioned  method.  There  is  no  longer  any  need  to  plant 
in  squares,  for  the  crop  may  be  kept  perfectly  clean 
when  planted  in  drills,  if  the  proper  implements  are 
used.  There  are  several  corn  planters  by  which  the  seed 


may  be  dropped  and  covered  at  the  same  time  in  single 
or  double  drills,  at  the  rate  of  eight  to  twenty  acres  per 
day.  By  using  the  Thomas  harrow  a  few  days  after 
planting,  every  young  weed  will  be  killed,  and  the  crust, 
which  so  often  gathers  upon  the  surface,  will  be  broken 
up  and  the  surface  mellowed.  The  harrow  may  be  used 
without  damage  until  the  corn  is  several  inches  high. 
Then  anyone  of  the  many  excellent  horse  hoes  may  be 
used  by  which  the  weeds  may  be  cut  out  of  the  rows  close 
5 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


9b 

to  the  corn  until  the  crop  is  so  high  that  farther  working 
is  useless.  This  method  of  cultivation  may  cost  two  dol¬ 
lars  per  acre,  or  less,  as  the  ground  may  have  been  kept 
free  from  weeds  in  previous  years,  while  on  the  old-fash¬ 
ioned  system  it  may  cost  ten  dollars  per  acre,  or  more,  as 
the  weeds  may  have  been  allowed  to  get  further  ahead, 
Nevertheless,  there  are  farmers  who  will  still  work  on 
the  hand-to-mouth  plan,  and  will  still  mark  out  their 
crops  by  a  marker  and  drvp  the  seed  by  hand.  For  these 
it  will  be  convenient  to  have  at  least  a  good  marker.  It 
will  mark  uneven  as  well  as  level  ground  ;  it  can  be  set 
to  any  width  between  rows  ;  any  farmer  or  smart  boy 
can  make  it,  and  the  inventor,  wTho  is  a  farmer  in  Can¬ 
ada,  does  not  propose  to  patent  it.  The  marker  is  made 
of  two  by  four  scantling,  one  piece  being  eight  feet  long. 
In  this  five  holes  are  bored,  one  for  each  of  the  runners, 
one  and  one-eighth  inch  in  diameter.  The  runners  are 
also  of  two  by  four  timber,  and  eighteen  inches  long. 
Holes  one  and  one-eighth  inch  in  diameter  are  bored 
through  the  runners,  in  which  are  placed  hard  wood 
pins  fourteen  inches  long.  These  are  driven  in  from  the 
bottom,  the  ends  being  left  broad,  so  that  they  may  not 
pass  through  the  holes,  and  projecting  an  inch  and  a 
half.  This  is  shown  in  figure  76.  The  small  pin  which 
passes  through  the  larger  one  serves  to  connect  the  run¬ 
ner  with  the  principal  timber,  and  by  shifting  the  large 
pin  from  one  hole  to  another,  the  runners  may  be  brought 
from  four  feet  to  one  foot,  or  even  six  inches  apart,  and 
made  to  mark  rows  of  widths  increasing  by  spaces  of  six 
inches  up  to  four  feet.  When  one  of  the  markers  meets 
with  an  obstruction  it  is  lifted  by  it,  as  seen  in  figure  77, 
and  passes  over  it.  A  guide  marker  is  fixed  by  a  binge 
to  one  of  the  outside  runners,  and  carries  a  scraper  which 
is  held  in  place  by  a  pin,  by  moving  which  the  distance 
ol  the  next  row  may  be  regulated.  A  pair  of  light  shafts 


FARM  CONVEKIEKCES, 


99 


may  be  attached  to  the  marker,  and  a  pair  of  handles  by 
which  it  may  be  guided. 


FEED  TROUGH  AND  HALTER. 

The  trough  rests  on  the  floor  and  is  four  feet  long. 
A,  A,  are  inch  auger  holes ;  a  rope,  four  feet  long,  is  put 
through  them  and  tied.  Another  rope,  D,  has  a  ring 


Fig.  78. — FEED  TROUGH  AND  HALTER. 


spliced  on  one  end,  and  a  “snap  hook”  on  the  other. 
The  longer  rope  passes  through  the  ring,  B,  and  when 
the  rope,  D ,  is  put  oyer  the  neck  of  the  cow,  the  “snap,” 
C,  hooks  into  the  ring.  This  allows  the  animal  to  stand 
or  lie  down  with  comfort. 


THE  HORSE-SHOE  AND  ITS  APPLICATION. 

Any  excess  of  growth  at  the  toe  renders  the  pasterns 
more  oblique,  and,  as  a  consequence,  throws  undue 
weight  upon  the  “back  sinews,”  whereas,  too  great 
height  of  heels  has  a  similar  effect  upon  the  joints  cf 
the  extremities,  by  rendering  them  too  upright.  Tak¬ 
ing  as  our  guide  the  foot  of  the  animal  that  has  never 
been  brought  to  the  forge,  and  which,  in  consequence, 
must  be  considered  as  a  correct  model,  let  the  external 


100 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


wall  of  the  hoof  be  reduced  by  means  of  the  rasp  to  a 
level  with  the  firm  unpared  sole.  If  there  is  no  growth 
of  the  external  wall  beyond  this  level,  then  there  is 
nothing  to  be  removed. 

In  the  selection  of  a  shoe  for  the  healthy  foot,  we 
must  bear  in  mind  the  object  in  view,  which  is  to  pro¬ 
tect  the  parts  from  excessive  wear.  This  protection  is 
to  be  found  in  a  metallic  rim  of  proper  size  and  shape, 
securely  adjusted.  Almost  every  shoe  in  common  use 
meets  this  end  more  or  less  satisfactorily,  and  we  have 
already  remarked  that  the  proper  preparation  of  the  foot 
that  has  been  previously  shod  is  of  vastly  more  impor¬ 
tance  than  the  particular  kind  of  shoe  to  be  adopted. 
At  the  same  time,  there  are  faults  in  the  shoe  most  com¬ 
monly  employed,  which  had  their  origin  in  its  particular 
adaptation  to  the  foot  after  this  had  undergone  more 
or  less  severe  mutilation  at  the  hands  of  the  farrier,  and 
which  have  been  retained  more  through  custom  than 
through  actual  necessity,  as  we  have  reason  to  hope. 
The  most  prominent  of  these  faults  consists  in  extreme 
narrowness  of  rim  with  a  concavity  upon  the  upper  or 
foot  surface,  in  order  to  prevent  the  sole  from  sus¬ 
taining  least  weight  or  pressure,  which  it  is  perfectly 
unfitted  to  do  after  being  pared  down  to  a  point  of  sensi¬ 
tiveness.  In  a  state  of  nature  we  know  that  every  por¬ 
tion  of  the  foot  comes  to  the  ground  and  sustains  its 
share  of  weight,  and  in  the  shod  state  it  should  do  the 
same,  as  far  as  practicable.  Hence,  the  shoe  should  be 
constructed  with  its  upper  surface  perfectly  flat,  and 
with  a  breadth  sufficient  to  protect  a  portion  of  the  sole, 
and  to  sustain  weight.  It  should  be  bevelled  upon  the 
ground  surface,  in  imitation  of  the  concavity  of  the  sole, 
and  not  upon  its  upper  surface,  where  the  space  thus 
formed  serves  as  a  lodging  place  for  small  stones  and 
other  foreign  bodies.  In  shape  it  should  follow  the  ex- 


FAEM  CONVENIENCES 


101 


act  outline  of  the  outer  wall,  being  narrowed  at  the  heels, 
but  continued  of  the  same  thickness  throughout.  The 
lateral  projection  at  the  quarters,  and  the  posterior  one 
at  the  heels  are  unsightly,  of  no  benefit,  and  should 
never  be  allowed  where  speed  is  required. 


HOW  TO  MAKE  A  FISHING  SCOW. 

Boat-building  should  be  done  during  the  winter,  when 
in-door  work  is  more  agreeable,  and  leisure  is  more 
ample,  than  in  the  summer.  A  boy  who  can  handle 
tools,  may  make  a  very  handsome  boat  or  scow,  such  as 


is  shown  at  figure  79,  at  a  cost  of  five  dollars  or  less,  in 
the  following  manner.  Procure  five  three-quarter  or 
half-inch  clear  pine  boards,  twelve  feet  in  length  and 
eight  inches  wide  ;  four  boards  ten  feet  long,  one  inch 
thick,  and  one  foot  wide,  and  three  strips  ten  feet  long, 
one  and  a  quarter-inch  thick,  and  three  inches  wide. 
Plane  all  these  smoothly  on  both  sides,  and  have  them 
all  free  from  loose  knots  or  shakes.  Cut  two  of  the  one' 
inch  boards  sloping  at  each  end  to  a  straight  line  for  two 
feet,  and  then  slightly  rounding  the  middle  of  the  board. 
Cut  two  pieces  of  the  one  and  a  quarter-inch  strips  into 
lengths  of  two  feet  ten  inches,  and  nail  them  to  the 
ends  of  the  side-boards,  as  shown  in  figure  80.  If 
strips  of  soft  brown  paper  are  dipped  into  tar  and  placed 


m 


FARM  COKYENIENCESo 


between  the  joints,  they  wull  be  made  closer  and  more 
water-tight.  Cut  the  eight-inch  boards  into  three  feet 
lengths,  and  nail  them  across  the  bottom,  as  shown  in 
figure  80  ;  where  the  bevel  ends,  the  two  bottom  boards 
must  be  bevelled  slightly  upon  one  of  their  edges,  so  as 
to  make  a  close  joint.  Then  take  two  of  the  one  and 


Fig.  80. — PUTTING  ON  THE  BOTTOM. 


a  quarter-inch  strips,  and  make  cuts  in  each  on  one  side 
with  the  saw,  one  inch  deep,  as  follows  :  measuring  from 
one  end,  mark  with  a  pencil  across  the  strip  three  feet 
six  inches  from  the  end ;  then  mark  again  across  the 
strip  one  inch  and  a  half  fronTthe  first  mark,  and  score 
between  these  marks  with  an  x .  Then  measure  three 
inches  and  make  another  mark,  and  then  an  inch  and 
a  half  and  make  still  another  mark,  and  score  as  before 
between  these  last  two  with  an  x .  Then  do  precisely 
the  same  on  the  same  side  of  the  strip,  measuring  from 
the  other  end.  Then  on  the  edges  of  the  board  score  with 
gauge  or  make  a  line  with  a  pencil  exactly  one  inch  from 
the  marked  side.  Then  make  the  cuts  on  the  pencil 
lines  down  to  the  score  on  the  edge,  just  one  inch  deep, 
but  no  more.  Cut  away  the  wood  in  the  places  that 
were  marked  with  an  x ,  leaving  four  slots  one  inch  and 
a  half  wide,  one  inch  deep,  and  with  three  inches  be¬ 
tween  them  upon  each  strip.  Nail  these  strips  with  the 
cut  side  inwards,  to  the  upper  edge  of  the  side-board, 
on  the  outside  of  the  boat,  as  seen  in  figure  81.  The 
spaces  left  in  the  gunwales  are  for  the  rowlocks.  The 


FAM  CONVENIENCES. 


103 


strips  should  be  well  nailed  near  the  rowlocks,  and  if 
a  quarter-inch,  flat-lieaded,  counter-sunk  carriage-bolt 
were  used  on  each  side  of  them,  it  would  be  very  much 
better  than  so  many  nails.  A  thin  washer,  or  burr, 
should  be  used  beneath  the  nut  of  each  bolt.  The  row- 
lock  pins  should  be  made  of  hard  maple  or  oak,  in  the 
shape  shown  at  a ,  figure  81.  They  are  one  inch  thick, 
one  and  a  half  inch  wide  at  the  lower  part,  which  fits 
into  the  slot,  with  a  shoulder  of  half  an  inch,  and  the 
top  is  bevelled  off  neatly  as  shown.  The  seats,  of  which 


Fig.  81.  — INTERIOR  OF  BOAT. 


there  are  twTo,  are  made  ten  inches  wide.  The  cleats  tor 
the  seats,  one  inch  thick,  one  and  a  half  inch  wide,  and 
ten  inches  long,  are  nailed  three  inches  below  the  upper 
edge  of  the  side-board.  The  middle  seat  goes  exactly 
in  the  centre  of  the  boat,  with  each  edge  four  feet  seven 
inches  from  the  end  of  the  boat.  The  end  seats  are 


104 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


placed  with  the  backs  two  feet  from  the  ends  of  the 
boat,  leaving  eight  inches  between  each  seat  and  the 
edge  of  the  rowlock  nearest  to  it.  There  are  cleats  for 
three  seats,  hut  only  two  seats  are  used  at  once.  When 
one  seat  is  used,  the  rower  sits  in  the  centre,  and  he  can 
use  either  of  the  rowlocks,  the  boat  being  double-bowed. 
When  two  seats  are  used,  one  person  only  rows  at  one 
time,  but  either  can  row  without  changing  seats,  and 
one  always  faces  to  the  direction  in  which  the  boat 
moves.  This  arrangement  of  seats  is  very  convenient. 
Eighteen  inches  of  each  end  is  closed  in,  and  makes  a 
locker  for  holding  fish-lines,  hooks,  or  the  “  painter,” 
which  is  a  light  rope  for  tying  up  the  boat  when  not  in 
use.  This  may  be  fastened  to  a  ring-bolt  or  a  hole 
bored  in  one  of  the  locker  covers.  The  long  bottom- 
board,  seen  in  figure  81,  eight  inches  wide  and  half  an 
inch  thick,  is  nailed  as  shown,  by  wrought  nails  driven 
from  the  outside  and  clinched  on  the  inside.  The  seat 
cleats  are  nailed  in  the  same  manner,  as  are  also  the  side 
strips.  Every  nail  is  counter-sunk  and  the  hole  filled 
up  with  putty.  The  seams  are  puttied  or  filled  with  a 
strip  of  cotton  sheeting  pushed  in  with  the  blade  of  a 
dinner  knife.  If  the  joints  are  made  as  well  as  they  may 
be,  this  is  not  needed,  but  two  coats  of  paint  will  make 
all  tight.  The  inside  should  be  painted  lead-color, 
made  by  mixing  lampblack  with  white  paint  to  a  proper 
shade.  The  outside  may  be  painted  white  or  a  light- 
green,  with  the  gunwale  of  a  light- blue.  A  few  days 
will  be  required  to  harden  the  paint  before  using  the 
boat.  None  but  seasoned  boards  should  be  used. 

CROWS  AND  SCARECROWS 

Probably  there  is  no  point  upon  which  a  gathering  of 
half  a  dozen  farmers  will  have  more  positive  opinions 


FARM  CONVENIENCES.  105 

than  as  to  the  relations  of  the  crow  to  agriculture.  It 
is  likely  that  five  of  these  will  regard  the  bird  as  totally 
bad,  while  the  minority  of  one  will  claim  that  he  is  all 
good.  As  usual,  the  truth  lies  between  the  extremes. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  crow  loves  corn,  and  knows 
that  at  the  base  of  the  tender  shoot  there  is  a  soft,  sweet 
kernel.  But  the  black-coated  bird  is  not  altogether  a 
vegetarian.  The  days  in  which  he  can  pull  young  corn 
are  few,  but  the  larger  part  of  the  year  he  is  really  the 
friend  of  the  farmer.  One  of  the  worst  insect  pests  with 
which  the  farmer,  fruit-grower,  or  other  cultivator  has 
to  contend  is,  the  “  White  G-rub,”  the  larva  of  the  “May 
Beetle,”  “June  Bug,”  or  “Dor-Bug.”  It  is  as  well 
established  as  any  fact  can  be,  that  the  crow  is  able  to 
detect  this  grub  while  it  is  at  work  upon  the  roots  of 
grass  in  meadows  and  lawns,  and  will  find  and  grub  it 
out.  For  this  service  alone  the  crow  should  be  every¬ 
where  not  only  spared,  but  encouraged.  We  are  too  apt 
to  judge  by  appearances ;  when  a  crow  is  seen  busy  in  a 
field,  it  is  assumed  that  it  is  doing  mischief,  and  by  a 
constant  warfare  against,  not  only  crows,  but  skunks, 
owls,  and  others  that  are  hastily  assumed  to  be  wholly 
bad,  the  injurious  insects,  mice,  etc.,  that  do  the 
farmer  real  harm  have  greatly  increased.  Shortly  after 
corn  is  planted,  the  crows  appear,  and  are  destructive  to 
young  corn.  Some  assert  that  the  crow  pulls  up  the 
corn  plant  merely  to  get  at  the  grub  which  would  destroy 
it  if  the  bird  did  not.  How  true  this  may  be  we  do  not 
know,  but  as  the  corn  is  destroyed  in  either  case,  it  may 
be  as  well  to  let  it  go  without  help  from  the  crow.  The 
first  impulse  of  the  farmer,  when  he  finds  his  corn  pulled 
up,  is  to  shoot  the  crow.  This  we  protest  against.  Even 
admitting  that  the  crow  does  mischief  for  a  short  time, 
it  is  too  useful  for  the  rest  of  the  year  to  be  thus  cut 
down  in  active  life.  Let  him  live  for  the  good  he  has 
5* 


106 


FAKM  CONVENIENCES. 


done  and  may  do.  It  is  vastly  better  to  keep  the  crows 
from^  pulling  the  young  corn,  for  two  or  three  weeks, 
and  allow  them  all  the  rest  of  the  year  to  destroy  bugs 
and  beetles  in  astonishing  numbers.  The  corn  may  be 
protected  by  means  of  “  scarecrows,”  of  which  there  are 
several  very  effective  kinds.  Crows  are  very  keen,  and 
are  not  easily  fooled ;  they  quickly  understand  the  or¬ 
dinary  “dummy,”  or  straw  man,  which  soon  fails  to  be 
of  service  in  the  corn-field.  It  has  no  life,  no  motion, 
and  makes  no  noise,  and  the  crow  soon  learns  this  and 
comes  and  sits  upon  its  outstretched  arm,  or  pulls  the 
corn  vigorously  at  its  feet.  A  dead  crow,  hung  by  a 
swinging  cord  to  a  long  slender  pole,  is  recommended  as 
far  better  than  a  straw  man — as  it,  in  its  apparent  strug¬ 
gles  to  get  away,  appeals  impressively  to  the  living  crow’s 
ser  of  caution.  But  the  crow  may  not  be  at  hand  to 
be  tuns  employed,  and  if  it  were,  the  farmer  cannot 
afford  to  kill  it.  Better  than  a  dead  crow  is  a  glass  bot¬ 
tle  with  the  bottom  knocked  out,  which  may  be  done 
with  an  iron  rod.  The  bottle  is  suspended  to  an  elastic 
pole  by  a  cord  tied  around  its  neck  ;  the  end  of  the  cord 
should  extend  downward  into  the  bottle,  and  have  a  nail 
fastened  to  it  and  within  the  bottle,  to  serve  as  a  clapper. 
If  a  piece  of  bright  tin  be  attached  to  the  cord  extending 
below  the  bottomless  end  of  the  bottle,  all  the  better. 
A  slight  breeze  will  cause  the  tin  to  whirl,  and,  in  the 
motion,  cast  bright  reflections  rapidly  in  all  directions, 
while  the  nail  keeps  up  a  rattling  against  the  inside  of 
the  bottle.  An  artificial  “  bird,”  to  be  hung  in  the  same 
manner,  may  be  made  from  a  piece  of  cork — one  used  in 
a  pickle-jar — into  which  a  number  of  large  goose  or 
chicken  feathers  are  fastened  so  as  to  roughly  imitate  a 
dilapidated  bird.  A  rough  head  maj7  be  carved  and  put 
on,  to  make  the  deception  more  complete.  As  this 
“bird”  catches  the  wind,  it  will  “fly”  here  and  there 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


107 


in  a  peculiar  manner  not  at  all  enticing  to  the  corn 
loving  crows. 


FLOOD  FENCE. 

The  weak  point  of  a  fence  is  where  it  crosses  a  stream  ; 
a  sudden  freshet  washes  away  loose  rails,  and  a  gap  is 


Fig.  82. — A  FLOOD  GATE. 


/eft  through  which  trespassing  cattle  soon  find  a  passage. 
Many  devices  have  been  used.  The  one  shown  in  figure 
82  is  self-acting:  when  water  rises  high  enough,  it  opens, 
and  when  the  flood  falls  it  closes  again.  It  may  be  made 
of  rails,  bars,  or  fence  strips. 


CLEARING  SLOUGH  LAND. 

In  clearing  up  land  that  is  covered  with  tussocks  of 
coarse  grass  and  a  tough  sod,  and  digging  out  ditches 
to  drain  such  land,  much  useless  labor  may  be  given 
that  could  be  spared  by  skilful  work.  The  spade  is 
commonly  used  for  this  purpose,  but,  as  in  digging  dry 
ground,  this  slow  tool  may  be  replaced  to  very  great 
advantage  by  the  plow  and  the  horse-shovel.  In  work- 


108 


FARM  CONVENIENCES 


ing  m  swamps  these  more  effective  tools  may  be  made 
available  in  many  cases.  To  cut  off  the  tussocks  with 
grub-hoes,  while  they  are  tough  in  the  summer  time,  is 
very  hard  and  slow  work  ;  but  if  a  common  horse-scraper 
is  used  they  can  be  torn  up,  or  cut  off,  with  the  greatest 
ease.  The  scraper  should  be  furnished  with  a  sharp 
steel-cutting  blade  in  the  front,  which  may  be  riveted 
on,  or  fastened  with  bolts,  so  that  it  may  be  taken  off 
and  ground  sharp.  If  there  are  wet  and  soft  places  the 
scraper  may  be  drawn  by  a  chain  of  sufficient  length  to 


keep  the  horse  upon  dry  ground,  as  shown  in  figure  83. 
This  plan  has  been  tried  by  the  writer  with  success,  and 
with  a  great  saving  of  time  and  expense  ;  the  digging  of 
a  pond  twenty  feet  wide  along  the  edge  of  a  swamp,  was 
performed  with  one  man,  a  boy,  a  team,  and  a  horse- 
shovel,  as  quickly  as  ten  men  could  have  done  it  with 
spades.  In  cutting  tough  swamp,  the  plow  may  be  used 
to  break  up  the  surface  when  the  horse-shovel  will  re¬ 
move  the  muck  very  fast.  If  the  swamp  is  wet,  and 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


10b 


water  flows  in  the  excavation,  the  digging  may  still  be 
done  with  the  horse-scraper  by  adding  to  the  length  of 
the  handles  and  using  planks  upon  each  side  for  the 
man  to  stand  upon,  and  planks  upon  the  inner  side  of 
the  excavation  for  the  scraper  to  slide  upon  with  its  load 
of  muck.  The  muck  maybe  thrown  in  heaps  on  the  side 
of  the  pond  or  ditches,  and  it  will  be  found  convenient 
to  leave  it  upon  one  side  instead  of  in  a  continuous  heap, 
as  this  will  greatly  facilitate  its  final  disposal  in  what¬ 
ever  way  that  may  be. 


HOW  TO  DRESS  A  BEEF. 

There  is  a  way  of  slaughtering  that  is  not  butchering, 
and  it  may  be  done  painlessly  by  taking  the  right  course. 
The  barn  floor  or  a  clean  grass-plot  in  a  convenient  spot 


Fig.  84.— THE  PROPER  PLACE  TO  STRIKE. 

will  be  a  suitable  place  for  the  work.  To  fasten  the  an¬ 
imal,  put  a  strong  rope  around  the  horns,  and  secure  the 
head  in  such  a  way  that  it  cannot  be  moved  to  any  great 
distance,  and  in  a  position  to  allow  a  direct  blow  to  be 
easily  given.  The  eyes  may  be  blinded  by  tying  a  cloth 
around  the  head  so  that  there  will  be  no  dodging  to 


110 


FARM  COMYEMIEMCES. 


avoid  tlie  stroke.  The  place  for  the  stunning  blow  is 
the  centre  of  the  forehead,  between  the  eyes  and  a  little 
above  them.  The  right  place  is  shown  at  a ,  figure  84. 
The  best  method  is  to  fire  a  ball  from  a  rifle  in  the  exact 
spot,  and  this  may  be  done  safely  when  the  animal  is 
blinded,  by  holding  the  weapon  near  to  the  head,  so  that  a 
miss  cannot  be  made  ;  otherwise  a  blow  with  the  back  of  an 
axe  made  when  the  striker  is  on  the  right  side  of  the  animal, 
and  the  head  is  fastened  down  near  the  ground,  will  be 
equally  effective.  So  soon  as  the  animal  falls,  the  throat 
is  divided  with  a  cut  from  a  long,  sharp  knife  ;  no  jack¬ 
knife  should  be  used,  but  a  long,  deep,  sweeping  stroke 


Fig.  85.— RACK  FOR  A  CARCASS  OF  BEEF. 

which  reaches  to  the  vertebras  as  the  head  is  held  back. 
This  divides  all  the  blood-vessels,  and  death  is  almost  in¬ 
stantaneous,  but  at  any  rate  painless.  When  the  carcass 
has  been  freed  from  blood,  it  should  be  turned  on  its  back, 
and  the  skin  divided  from  the  throat  up  the  brisket, 
along  the  belly  to  the  legs,  and  up  the  legs  to  the  knees, 
where  the  joints  should  be  severed,  taking  care,  how¬ 
ever,  to  cut  off  the  hind  feet  below  the  hock  joints 


FARM  COHVEKIEKCES. 


Ill 


about  two  or  three  inches.  The  skin  is  then  stripped 
from  the  legs  and  belly,  and  as  near  to  the  back  as  may 
be  by  turning  the  carcass.  The  belly  is  then  opened, 
and  the  intestines  taken  out ;  the  brisket  is  cut  through, 
and  the  lungs  and  gullet  removed.  It  is  now  necessary 
to  raise  the  carcass.  This  is  done  on  the  rack,  the  for¬ 
ward  legs  of  which  are  placed  on  each  side  of  the  car¬ 
cass,  and  the  gambrels  are  placed  upon  the  hooks  shown 
in  figure  85.  The  legs  of  the  rack  are  then  raised  as  far 
as  possible,  and  as  the  carcass  is  lifted,  the  hinder  leg  is 
brought  up  to  hold  what  is  gained  until  the  carcass  is 
clear  of  the  ground  ;  the  hide  is  then  wholly  removed, 
the  carcass  washed  and  scraped  from  anything  adhering, 
and  then  divided  down  through  the  backbone,  leaving 
the  sides  hanging.  As  a  matter  of  safety  from  dogs  or 
other  dishonest  animals,  it  is  well  to  have  the  work  done 
in  the  barn,  laying  down  a  quantity  of  straw  to  protect 
the  floor,  if  thought  necessary,  as  the  beef  should  re¬ 
main  at  least  twelve  hours  to  cool  and  set. 


A  FARM  CART. 

While  there  are  different  kinds  of  farm  carts,  we 
have  not  yet  hit  upon  the  cart — i.  e .,  one  that  meets  with 
general  approbation.  The  writer,  having  much  work 
for  a  cart,  has  designed  one  which  is  intended  to  do  all 
the  work  of  the  farm  more  easily  than  a  wagon  or  any 
other  cart.  For  the  carriage  of  manure,  of  fodder-corn, 
green  clover,  or  other  soiling  fodder,  for  hauling  roots 
and  such  work,  a  cart  is  needed  with  a  low  body,  that 
can  be  turned  around  in  its  own  length  to  back,  or  even 
turn  in  a  manure  cellar  or  on  a  barn  floor.  All  this  can 
be  done  with  this  cart,  and  when  hay,  straw,  or  green 
fodder  is  to  be  loaded,  the  fore  and  hind  racks  may  be 


112 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


put  on,  and  greatly  increase  its  capacity.  With  four-inch 
wheels,  this  cart  can  be  drawn,  when  loaded,  over 
plowed  ground  or  muddy  roads,  and  scarcely  sink  below 
the  surface.  The  cart  body  consists  of  a  frame  eight 
feet  long,  three  and  a  half  feet  wide,  and  fourteen  inches 
deep,  thus  holding,  when  heaped,  about  a  cubic  yard 
and  a  half  of  manure,  or  as  near  as  possible  one  ton. 
The  frame  is  made  of  three  by  four  timber  for  the  top, 
and  two  by  three  for  the  bottom,  sides,  and  cross-bars, 
and  is  covered  with  bass-wood  or  willow  boards  on  the 
bottom,  the  front,  and  the  sides  near  the  wheels.  The 

rear  end  is  closed  when  desired  by 
a  sliding  tail-board.  The  axles  are 
fixed  to  the  frame,  as  shown  in 
figure  86,  and  pass  through  the 
^middle  side  posts  under  the  upper 

slide  bar  and  a  wide  iron  strap, 
Fig.  86.— axle  fast-  embraces  the  top  of  the 

ENING.  ill 

frame,  and  passes  under  the  bot¬ 
tom,  as  shown  in  the  engraving,  being  screwed  by 
bolts  to  the  timbers.  The  wheel  is  the  same  size  as  ar 
ordinary  wagon  wheel,  viz.,  four  feet  ;  this  brings  the 
bottom  of  th§  cart  body  to  within  one  foot  of  the 
ground,  and  in  loading,  the  lift  is  only  a  little  more 
than  two  feet  from  the  ground.  The  saving  of  labor 
and  the  effect  of  work  are  thus  greatly  increased,  a 
man  being  able  to  load  twice  as  much  with  the  same 
force,  into  a  cart  of  this  kind,  as  into  a  wagon-box 
four  feet  high.  The  rear  end  of  the  cart  may  he 
provided  with  a  roller,  fitted  into  the  rear  posts,  which 
serves  to  ease  the  unloading  of  the  cart  when  it  is  tipped, 
the  rear  end  then  easily  moving  over  the  ground  as  the 
cart  is  drawn  over  the  field  when  unloading  manure. 
But  as  the  cart  body  is  so  low  there  will  rarely  be  any 
need  for  tipping  the  cart.  To  enlarge  its  capacity,  there 


FARM  COHVEXIEHCES. 


113 


are  movable  racks  fitted  before  and  behind,  as  shown 
in  figure  87.  The  cost  of  two  of  these  carts  is  not 
more  than  that  of  a  wagon,  and  may  be  less,  if  economy 


is  exercised  in  making  them.  The  shafts  may  be  bolted 
to  the  sides  and  so  arranged  that  the  cart  can  be  tipped 
over  when  the  load  requires  it. 


BRACES  FOR  A  GATE  POST. 

On  the  side  of  the  post,  and  near  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  spike  an  inverted  bracket,  made  of  a  two-inch 
plank  of  white  oak,  or  other  hard  wood.  The  bracket 


Fig.  88. — BRACING  A  GATE  POST. 


should  be  not  less  than  six  inches  wide,  and  a  foot  long. 
There  should  be  two  of  these  braces,  one  on  the  gate 


114 


EAKM  CONVENIENCES. 


side  of  the  post  when  the  gate  is  shut,  and  one  on  the 
gate  side  when  open.  Under  the  bracket  place  a  flat 
stone  firmly  settled  in  the  ground,  on  which  the  bottom 
of  the  bracket  is  to  rest ;  a  piece  of  plank,  as  long  as  it 
lasts,  will  do  instead  of  the  stone. 

The  hang  of  the  gate  can  then  be  exactly  adjusted  by 
putting  a  thin  stone  or  piece  of  wood  between  the  bot¬ 
tom  of  the  bracket  and  the  flat  stone  or  plank.  This  is 
a  simple  and  effective  method  of  supporting  a  post, 
where  there  is  no  other  convenient  way  of  bracing,  and 
even  in  almost  all  cases,  it  gives  additional  firmness.  If 
the  lower  end  of  the  post  is  of  good  size,  and  is  well  put 
in,  this  method  of  bracing  will  hold  a  very  heavy  gate. 


WHIPPLE-TREES  FOR  PLOWING  CORN  SAFELY. 

We  have  found  it  beneficial  to  cultivate  our  corn  crop 

until  the  rows  become  impassable 
for  a  horse,  or  until  it  was  foar 
feet  or  more  high.  But  to  do  this 
with  the  wide  whipple-tree,  the 
ends  of  which  project  beyond  the 
traces,  and  break  down  the  stalks, 
is  impossible.  It  may,  however,  be 
done  by  using  a  whipple-tree  spe¬ 
cially  provided  for  it.  This  is 
made  as  follows :  a  piece  of  oak 
timber,  two  inches  thick,  three 
wide,  and  twenty  inches  long,  is  rounded  at  the  corners, 
and  deeply  grooved  at  the  ends,  so  that  the  trace-chains 
may  be  entirely  imbedded  in  the  grooves.  A  small  hole 
is  bored  through  each  end.  into  which  a  small  carriage 
bolt  is  inserted,  being  made  to  pass  through  a  link  of  the 
trace-chain,  and  it  is  then  fastened  beneath  with  a  nut. 


Fig.  89. — WHIPPLE-TREE. 


J?ARM  CONVENIENCES. 


115 


The  trace-chains  should  be  covered  with  leather  where 
they  will  rub  against  the  corn,  and  a  flap  of  leather 
should  he  left  to  cover  the  front  corners  of  the  whipple- 
tree,  as  shown  in  figure  89.  A  ring  or  an  open  link  is 
fastened  at  the  part  of  the  chain  which  is  attached  to 
the  clevis,  and  one  at  each  end  by  which  it  is  hooked  to 
the  traces.  With  this  arrangement  one  may  cultivate 
his  corn  without  injury,  and  the  same  method  may  be 
applied  to  the  whipple- trees,  for  plowing  or  cultivating 
amongst  trees  in  the  orchard  or  garden. 


WHAT  TREES  TO  PLANT  FOR  FUEL  AND  TIMBER. 

The  attention  of  our  people  in  the  older  States  is  being 
very  properly  turned  to  planting  rocky  ridges  and  worn- 
out  pastures  with  forest  trees.  This  work  is  done  by 
those  who  have  no  expectation  of  cutting  the  timber 
themselves,  but  with  a  view  to  improve  their  property 
for  future  sale,  or  for  their  heirs.  These  old  pastures 
now  are  worth  $10,  or  less,  per  acre.  Forty  or  fifty 
years  hence,  covered  with  heavy  timber,  they  would  be 
Worth  three  hundred  dollars,  or  more,  per  acre.  Two 
elements  may  safely  enter  into  this  calculation  of  the 
profit  of  tree  planting  :  the  steady  growth  of  the  trees, 
and  the  constant  increase  in  the  price  of  fuel  and  tim¬ 
ber.  There  is  great  difference  in  the  price  of  the  varie¬ 
ties  of  wood,  but  still  more  in  the  rapidity  of  their 
growth.  Hickory  grows  more  rapidly  than  white  oak, 
and  in  most  markets  is  worth  a  quarter  more  for  fuel. 
Chestnut  grows  about  three  times  as  fast  as  the  white 
oak,  and  for  many  purposes  makes  quite  as  good  timber. 
It  is  in  great  demand  by  ship-builders,  and  cabinet¬ 
makers.  The  chestnut,  the  tulip  tree,  and  the  hickory 
attain  a  good  size  for  timber  in  twenty  to  twenty-five 


116 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


years,  and  the  spruce  and  pine  need  about  fifty  years. 
The  maples  grow  quite  rapidly,  and  are  highly  prized, 
both  for  fuel  and  for  cabinet  purposes.  On  light  sandy 
land,  the  white  pine  will  grow  rapidly,  and  cannot  fail 
to  be  a  good  investment  for  the  next  generation.  As  a 
rule,  the  more  rapid  growing  trees,  if  the  wood  is  valua¬ 
ble,  will  pay  better  than  the  oaks. 

TO  STEADY  PORTABLE  MILLS. 

Figure  90  shows  a  contrivance  for  steadying  portable 
mills,  which  has  been  used  for  several  years.  It  is  an 

iron  rod  of  suitable  size,  about  a 
foot  long,  fastened  by  iron  brack¬ 
ets  to  the  leg,  or  post  of  the  mill. 
Three  or  four  inches  of  the  rod  is  a 
screw,  and  fits  one  of  the  brackets 
through  which  it  runs,  and  can  be 
turned  up  or  down.  The  lower  end 
of  the  rod  is  pointed,  and  the  upper 
end  squared,  that  it  may  be  turned 
with  a  wrench.  The  rod  is  fastened 
Fig.  90—  leg  of  mill,  firmly  to  the  side  of  the  post  (one 
on  each  of  the  forward  posts),  and  turned  down  so  that 
the  point  shall  enter  the  floor  sufficiently  to  hold  it 
firmly. 


SPLITTING  RAILS  AND  POSTS. 

Autumn  is  the  best  season  for  cutting  timber,  as 
many  farmers  have  learned  by  experience.  The  season¬ 
ing  process  is  much  more  perfect,  because  there  is  no 
layer  of  growing  sap  wood.  Insects  do  not  work  in 
autumn  cut  timber,  as  in  that  cut  in  the  spring  or  sum¬ 
mer,  and  the  wood  does  not  “ powder  post.”  It  is  best 
to  split  the  logs  into  rails  or  posts  at  once,  and  not  wait 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


117 


until  tlie  timber  lias  become  seasoned  in  the  log.  The 
logs  will  split  easier,  tlie  rails  will  season  quicker, 
and  be  more  durable.  The  splitting  of  rails  is  a  work 
that  requires  good  judgment,  otherwise  much  timber 
will  be  wasted.  Some  persons  will  make  rails  that  are 
large  at  one  end,  and  gradually  tapering  to  a  sliver  at 
the  other,  and  are  worthless  for  fencing  purposes.  Set 
the  wedge  at  the  top  end  of  the  log,  after  first  “check¬ 
ing  ”  with  the  axe,  by  driving  with  the  beetle,  so  as  to 
divide  the  log  into  two  equal  parts.  Now  drive  in  two 
wedges,  as  shown  in  figure  91,  both  at  the  same  time. 
Next  use  a  wooden  wedge  or  “glut,”  either  in  the  end 
of  the  log,  or  on  the  top  a  little  back  from  the  end.  After 
halving  the  log,  quarter  it,  and  then  proceed  on  the 
principle  that  a  rail  should  be  about  three  by  three 
inches.  The  size  of  the  log. will  determine  the  number 
of  rails  be  made.  For  example,  in  figure  92,  six  rails 
are  made  by  first  halving  the  quarter,  then  splitting  off 
the  inner  part  half-way  from  the  centre,  and  afterwards 
halving  the  outer  part.  Should  the  logs  be  larger, 
twelve  rails  are  made  from  each  quarter,  as  shown  in 
figure  93,  — or  forty-eight  rails  from  the  log.  In  split¬ 
ting  logs  into  posts,  a  broad  and  smooth  side  is  to  be 
sought.  Suppose  we  have  the  same,  sized  log  as  the  one 

split  into  forty-eight  rails,  or 
twelve  rails  per  quarter,  figure 
93 — the  splitting  would  be,  in 
each  case,  from  the  centre  to 
outside  with  cross  splitting  mid¬ 
way.  The  number  of  posts  would 
be  determined  by  the  size  of  the 
posts  desired.  If  the  logs  are  of 
the  size  of  the  quarter,  shown  in 
figure  92,  there  is  no  cross  split¬ 
ting,  unless  a  small  piece  for  a 


Fig.  91. — POSITION  OF 
WEDGE. 


1X8 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


3take  is  taken  from  the  centre.  When  the  logs  are  only 
large  enough  for  four  posts,  and  a  broad  surface  is  de¬ 
sired,  as  in  bar  posts,  they  may  be  split  by  first  “slab¬ 
bing/’  and  afterwards  splitting  through  the  centre  ;  all 
the  split  surfaces  to  be  parallel.  If  still  smaller,  three 


Fig.  92. 


Fig.  93. 


posts  can  be  made,  by  splitting  off  two  slabs  on  opposite 
sides,  as  in  the  case  above,  and  not  divide  the  heart,  and 
finally  when  the  log  will  make  only  two,  it  can  be 
halved. 


A  MIXTURE  OP  GRASSES, 


It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  mixed  crops  are  more  pro¬ 
ductive  than  those  sown  singly.  Thus  one  acre  sown  to 
oats  and  barley,  or  oats  and  peas,  will  yield  as  much,  or 
nearly  as  much,  as  two  acres  sown  singly  to  either  crop. 
So  in  grass  lands,  Clover  and  Timothy,  mixed,  will  pro¬ 
duce  nearly  twice  as  much  as  if  the  ground  were  seeded 
to  one  of  these  alone.  It  is  also  a  well-known  fact  that 
our  grass  lands  are  not  so  productive  as  we  could  wish, 
and  the  reason  of  this  may  be,  and  probably  is,  that  we 
have  but  one  or  two  kinds  of  herbage  in  them.  If  we 
examine  an  old,  thick,  luxuriant  sod,  in  a  pasture  or  a 
meadow,  it  will  be  found  to  consist  of  a  variety  of  grasses 
and  other  plants,  each  of  which  seems  to  vie  with  the 
other  in  occupying  the  soil  for  itself.  This  is  the  result 
of  natural  seeding,  and  gives  us  a  lesson  which  we  may 
well  profit  by.  There  is  another  reason  why  grasses 
should  be  mixed ;  this  is  that  the  periods  of  greatest 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


119 


vigor  of  different  varieties  occur  at  different  times.  We 
can  therefore  secure  a  succession  of  herbage  for  a  long 
season  by  sowing  a  variety  of  grass  seeds. 

To  give  examples,  we  might  mention  that  a  mixture 
of  Orchard  Grass,  Red  Clover,  Timothy,  and  Kentucky 
Blue- Grass  will  produce  a  pasture  which  will  be  in  good 
condition  for  grazing  from  April,  when  the  first  mem 
tioned  grass  is  in  fine  condition,  up  to  October,  when 
the  last  is  in  its  most  vigorous  state  ;  the  Clover  and 
Timothy  serving  to  fill  up  the  interval.  With  one  of 
these  alone  there  would  be  but  one  month  of  good  herb¬ 
age,  and  that  coarse,  if  given  the  whole  field  to  itself.  In 
like  manner,  a  quantity  of  Rye  Grass  added  to  a  meadow 
would  help  to  furnish  a  quick  growing  herbage  which 
rapidly  and  constantly  recuperates  after  cutting  or  eat¬ 
ing  down. 

The  fact  is,  that  we  make  much  less  of  our  advantages 
in  regard  to  our  meadows  and  pastures  than  we  might. 
On  the  average,  seven  acres  of  pasture  are  required  to 
keep  one  cow  through  the  pasturing  season,  when  by  the 
best  management  one  acre,  or  at  the  most  two*  ought  to 
be  sufficient.  This  is  due  in  great  measure  to  the  prev¬ 
alent  fashion  of  seeding  down  with  but  one  variety  of 
grass,  with  clover  added  sometimes,  a  fashion  which, 
hereafter,  experience  teaches  us  should  be  more  honored 
in  the  breach  than  in  the  observance. 


HITCHING  A  CRIB-BITER. 

Those  persons  who  have  a  horse  that  is  a  crib-biter  and 
windsucker,  and  which  practices  his  vice  wheu  hitched 
to  a  post  in  the  street,  is  recommended  to  try  a  hitching- 
rod,  such  as  shown  in  figure  94  It  consists  of  a  piece 
of  hickory,  white  oak,  or  tough  ash,  about  twenty- four 


120 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


or  thirty  inches  long,  thickest  in  the  middle,  where  it 
may  be  an  inch  in  diameter.  A  ferule  with  a  ring  is  fast¬ 
ened  to  each  end;  in  one  ring  a  common  snap- 
hook  is  fixed,  and  a  short  leather  strap  is  passed 
through  the  other,  by  which  the  stick  is  fast¬ 
ened  to  the  post.  The  horse  thus  hitched  can¬ 
not  possibly  reach  the  top  of  the  post,  to  seize 
it  with  its  teeth.  In  the  stall  such  a  horse 
should  be  hitched  with  two  straps,  one  at  each 
side  of  the  stall,  and  of  such  a  length  that  he 
cannot  reach  either  side  to  take  hold  of  the  rail 
or  partition  of  the  stall.  If  a  swinging  feed-box 
is  used,  the  crib-biter  will  be  forced  to  suspend 
operations,  as  he  cannot  draw  in  the  air  or  “  suck 

wind,”  unless  he  has  some  projecting  object 

* 

that  he  can  lay  hold  of  with  the  teeth. 


Fig.  94. 


HOW  TO  INCREASE  VEGETABLE  MATTER 
IN  THE  SOIL, 

The  amount  of  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil 
may  be  increased  by  various  methods  ;  one  is 
by  large  applications  of  barn-yard  manure,  say 
fifty  cords  to  the  acre.  Eut  this  would  be  very 
expensive,  and  is  out  of  the  question  in  com¬ 
mon  farming.  It  may  be  done  by  putting  on  peat  or 
muck,  when  these  are  near  to  the  fields.  But  this 
involves  a  considerable  outlay  for  labor  in  digging 
the  peat,  and  a  still  larger  expense  in  carting  it,  whether 
it  first  pass  through  the  yards  and  stables,  or  be  carted 
to  the  fields  for  composting  or  spreading  upon  the  sur¬ 
face  to  be  plowed  in.  On  some  farms  this  may  be  tho 
cheaper  method  of  supplying  vegetable  matter  to  the 
soil.  But  on  others  the  most  economical  method  is  the 
raising  of  clover,  to  be  fed  off  upon  the  land,  or  to  be 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


121 


turned  in.  If  a  ton  of  clover  may  be  worth  nine  dollars, 
as  a  fertilizer,  the  growing  of  the  plant  is  a  cheap 
method  of  improving  the  land.  Two  tons  for  the  first 
crop  and  a  ton  for  the  second  is  not  an  uncommon  yield 
for  land  in  good  heart.  The  roots  of  clover  also  add 
largely  to  the  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil.  The  first 
crop  may  be  pastured,  waiting  until  the  crop  is  in  blos¬ 
som,  and  then  turning  in  cattle  enough  to  feed  it  off  in 
three  or  four  weeks.  They  should  be  kept  constantly 
upon  the  field,  that  the  whole  crop  may  be  returned  to 
the  soil.  This  will,  of  course,  help  the  second  crop, 
which  maybe  turned  in  with  the  plow  soon  after  it  is  in 
blossom.  If  the  equivalent  of  three  tons  of  dried  clover 
hay,  and  one  ton  of  roots  have  been  grown  to  the  acre, 
about  thirty-six  dollars’  worth  of  manure  have  been  added 
to  the  soil,  and  it  has  been  distributed  more  evenly  than 
would  have  been  possible  by  any  mechanical  process. 
There  has  been  no  expense  for  carting  and  spreading 
peat,  or  for  composting.  On  the  contrary,  there  has 
been  the  equivalent  of  two  tons  of  clover-hay  consumed 
upon  the  field,  worth,  as  fodder,  twenty-four  dollars. 
This  will  more  than  pay  the  cost  of  seed,  of  plowing 
twice  and  other  labor.  This  is  generally  admitted  to  be 
the  cheapest  method  of  increasing  the  vegetable  matter 
and  the  fertility  of  soils  in  common  farming.  And  this, 
it  will  be  seen,  requires  some  little  capital. 


OPEN  LINKS. 

An  open  link,  shown  in  figure  95,  is  made  of  three- 
eighth  inch  iron  rod,  and  when  used  to  connect  a  broken 
chain,  is  simply  closed  by  a  blow  from  a  hammer  or  a  stone. 
There  being  no  rivet,  the  link  is  not  weakened  in  any 
way.  Figure  96  shows  another  link,  made  of  malleable 
cast-iron,  in  two  parts,  which  are  fastened  together 
6 


1&&  FARM  COKYEKIEtfCES. 

by  a  rivet  in  the  centre.  A  few  of  these  links  may  be 
carried  in  the  pocket,  and  are  ready  for  instant  use  in 
case  of  an  emergency.  The  last-mentioned  links  are 


Fig.  95.— common  link.  Fig.  96. 


kept  for  sale  at  the  hardware  stores  ;  the  first  named  may 
be  made  in  a  short  time  by  a  blacksmith,  or  any  farmer 
who  has  a  workshop  and  a  portable  forge. 


CARE  OP  THE  ROOT  CROPS. 

Sugar  beets  and  mangels,  if  early  sowed,  will  need 
little  care.  They  ought  not  to  stand  too  thick,  how¬ 
ever,  and  it  would  certainly  pay  to  go  through  the  rows, 
thinning  out  all  superfluous  plants,  whether  beets  or 
weeds,  leaving  the  plants  six  to  eight  inches  apart.  If 
the  leaves  are  not  so  large  as  to  forbid  horse-hoeing, 
this  should  be  done  and  the  crop  “laid-by.”  No  root 
crop  should  ever  be  left  after  horse-hoeing,  without  a 
man  going  through  it  immediately  after,  to  lift  and 
straighten  up  any  plants  which  may  have  been  trodden 
upon,  covered  with  earth,  or  injured  in  any  way.  Ruta¬ 
bagas,  and  any  turnips  in  drills,  need  the  same  general 
culture.  One  of  the  great  advantages  of  the  introduc- 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


123 


tion  of  roots  into  tlie  rotation  is  that,  when  properly 
treated,  no  weeds  ripen  seeds.  Even  red  sorrel  and 
snapdragon  succumb  to  two  or  three  years’  cropping  with 
mangels  or  Swedes.  This  advantage  is  often  lost  by 
careless  cultivators,  and  nothing  offers  surer  evidence 
of  heedless  farming.  The  crop  itself  may  be  very  fine, 
but  if  kept  clear  of  weeds  it  would  be  enough  better  to 
pay  for  the  trouble,  and  the  weeds  would  then  be  where 
they  will  make  no  more  trouble  forever. 

Turnips  may  be  sown  as  late  as  the  middle  of  August, 
but  the  land  should  be  in  good  heart,  and  good  tilth. 
Swedish  turnips  (rutabagas)  sowed  as  late  as  the  first  of 
August,  will  usually  make  a  crop  delicious  for  the  table, 
and,  though  small,  bring  a  good  price.  Thus  they  are 
often  used  to  follow  early  potatoes  by  market  gardeners, 
though  by  them  usually  regarded  as  a  farm  crop. 


TRAP  FOR  SHEEP-KILLING  DOGS. 

In  many  places  the  losses  by  dogs  are  so  great  as  to 
prevent  the  keeping  of  sheep  altogether  ;  thus  this  profit¬ 
able  and  agreeable  industry  is  made  impracticable  over 
the  greater  portion  of  the  country ;  unless  such  pre* 
cautions  are  taken  as  will  add  greatly  to  its  trouble  and 
cost.  With  small  flocks  only,  this  extra  cost  and  trouble 
are  too  onerous,  and  it  is  only  where  sheep  are  kept  in 
large  flocks  that  it  will  pay  to  employ  shepherds  to  con¬ 
stantly  watch  them,  or  take  other  necessary  precautions. 
In  several  of  the  States — West  Virginia  and  Tennessee 
more  particularly — very  stringent  laws  have  recently 
been  enacted  for  the  protection  of  sheep  against  dogs, 
which  will  go  far  to  encourage  the  raising  of  flocks.  In 
other  States,  where  the  influence  of  the  owners  of  dogs  is 
of  more  weight  than  that  of  sheep-owners,  these  latter 


FARM  CO^VEXIEXCES. 


1^4 

are  obliged  to  look  out  for  themselves,  and  protect  their 
sheep  as  they  may  be  able.  For  such  the  contrivance 
here  described  and  illustrated,  may  be  useful.  It  is 
made  as  follows  :  In  the  meadow  or  field,  where  sheep 
are  pastured  during  the  day,  a  small  pen,  eight  feet 
square,  is  made,  and  fenced  strongly  with  pickets  or 
boards.  This  pen  is  divided  into  two  parts  (A,  B,  figure 
97)  by  a  cross-fence.  The  pen  is  wholly  covered  over 


Fig.  97.— TliAP  FOli  SHEEP-KILLING  DOGS. 


on  the  top  with  strong  lath.  Two  gates  [a,  b,)  are  made 
so  that  they  will  swing  open  of  their  own  accord,  and 
remain  so,  unless  held  closed  or  fastened.  The  gate,  a , 
is  furnished  with  a  latch,  by  which  it  is  fastened  when 
closed.  This  gate  is  intended  to  admit  the  dog  into  the 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


125 


part  of  the  pen,  A,  when  he  is  attracted  to  it  by  a  sheep 
confined  for  the  purpose  in  the  other  part  of  the  pen  (B). 
In  the  part  of  the  pen.  A,  is  a  heavy  board,  reaching 
across  it.  One  edge  of  this  board  rests  upon  the  ground 
against  two  pegs,  which  keep  it  from  slipping  backwards. 
The  other  edge  is  kept  up  by  means  of  two  shaky  slender 
supports.  A  rope  is  fastened  to  the  upper  edge  of  this 
board,  and  to  the  gates,  so  that  one  half  of  it,  when  the 
board  is  propped  up,  allows  the  gate,  a ,  to  swing  open, 
and  the  other  half  holds  the  gate,  b,  shut,  and  thus  keeps 
the  sheep  confined.  The  trap  is  now  set.  A  dog,  prowl¬ 
ing  in  search  of  mutton,  finds  the  sheep,  and  seeks  an 
entry  into  the  pen.  He  finds  the  open  gate,  and  rushes 
in,  over  the  board  set  upon  its  edge,  and  knocks  this 
down.  This  closes  the  gate,  a,  which  is  at  once  latched 
and  fastened.  The  gate,  b,  is  allowed  to  swing  open,  and 
the  sheep  is  liberated,  and,  of  course,  proceeds  home¬ 
ward  without  delay,  while  the  dog  is  imprisoned.  We 
need  not  suggest  any  method  of  dealing  with  the  pris¬ 
oner,  as  there  are  many,  more  or  less  effective,  which 
will  suggest  themselves.  We  think  it  would  be  an  im¬ 
provement  upon  this  plan,  if  the  sheep  be  confined  in 
the  pen,  where  it  can  be  seen  by  the  dogs,  and  an  addi¬ 
tional  apartment,  if  not  more  than  one,  made,  in  which 
other  dogs  could  be  trapped.  Sheep-hunting  dogs  usually 
go  in  couples,  and  if  only  one  dog  were  trapped,  the 
sheep  escaping  from  the  pen  would  be  caught  by  the 
other  before  it  could  reach  home.  With  two  or  three 
traps  all  the  dogs  could  be  caught,  and  in  a  short  time 
the  locality  would  be  rid  of  them,  or,  being  identified, 
their  owners  could  be  made  responsible  for  their  tres¬ 
passes.  It  would  be  necessary  to  have  the  pen  made 
very  strong,  so  that  the  dogs  should  not  tear  their  way 
out  of  the  trap,  or  into  the  pen  in  which  the  sheep  is 
confined.  Stout  wire-netting  would  make  a  safe  fence. 


126 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


So  far  as  regards  what  are  called  dog-laws,  it  would  be 
well  if  these  should  provide,  amongst  other  things,  that 
every  dog  must  wear  a  collar,  bearing  its  owner’s  name  ; 
that  the  owner  of  any  dog  which  is  caught  in  pursuit  of 
sheep  upon  the  property  of  any  person  other  than  the 
owner  of  the  dog,  should  be  held  liable  for  damages  for 
the  trespass,  and  that  any  dog  caught  trespassing,  and 
being  without  a  collar  bearing  its  owner’s  name,  should 
be  destroyed  by  the  person  capturing  it.  As  any  citizen 
has  as  much  right  to  keep  a  dog  as  another  has  to  keep 
a  sheep,  without  being  taxed  for  it,  and  can  only  be  held 
liable  for  what  damage  his  dog  may  do,  it  does  not  seem 
just  that  any  tax  should  he  levied  upon  dogs.  The  only 
just  claim  that  can  be  made  by  a  sheep-owner  is  that  he 
shall  be  protected  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  property,  and 
that  the  person  by  or  through  whom  he  is  injured  should 
recompense  him.  In  the  case  of  irresponsible  owners 
of  dogs,  from  whom  no  recovery  can  be  made,  the  dogs 
should  be  destroyed  by  a  proper  officer.  If  the  right  of 
persons  to  keep  dogs,  when  they  wish  to  do  so,  without 
being  taxed,  is  recognized  in  this  manner,  much  of  the 
opposition  to  the  enactment  of  what  are  called  “dog- 
laws,”  would  be  removed,  and  the  protection  of  sheep 
made  much  less  difficult,  and  productive  of  much  greater 
profit. 


HOW  TO  USE  A  FILE  PROPERLY. 

The  file  is  very  frequently  used  in  such  an  imperfect 
manner  as  to  greatly  reduce  its  value  as  a  mechanical 
tool.  The  chief  difficulty  in  using  a  file  is  in  keeping 
it  in  a  perfectly  horizontal  position  as  it  is  moved  over 
the  work,  and  in  maintaining  an  equable  pressure  upon 
the  work  meanwhile.  Perhaps  the  most  difficult  work 
in  filing,  and  that  which  is  most  frequently  ill-done,  is 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


12? 


in  sharpening  saws.  The  hearing  of  the  file  upon  the 
work  is  very  narrow,  and  unable  to  guide  its  direction, 
and  unless  the  file  is  held  very  carefully  the  direction 
varies  continually,  so  that  the  saw  tooth  is  filed  round- 


Fig.  98. — IMPROPER  USE  OP  THE  FILE. 


ing  instead  of  flat,  or  sloping  instead  of  horizontal,  or  at 
exact  right  angles  with  the  line  of  the  saw,  as  it  should 
be  in  a  mill-saw  oi  a  rip-saw.  When  the  file  is  held  as 
shown  in  figure  08  (a  very  common  manner  of  holding 
it),  it  is  almost  impossible  to  do  good  work  upon  a  saw. 
When  the  file  is  pushed  on  to  the  tooth,  the  weight  or 
pressure  of  the  right  hand  is  exerted  upon  the  longer 


Fig.  99.— ANOTHER  WRONG  WAY  OF  FILING. 


portion  of  the  tool,  making  it  act  as  if  it  were  the  longer 
arm  of  a  lever,  and  thus  depresses  that  portion  below  the 
horizontal,  as  at  a.  When  pushed  forward,  the  pressure 
is  then  exerted  upon  the  longer  portion  of  the  file,  which 
is  carried  from  the  horizontal  in  the  contrary  direction. 
The  work  is  thus  made  round.  Or  if  the  pressure  of 
the  left  hand  is  guarded  against,  that  of  the  right  hand 


130 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


building  renders  a  mitre-box  very  necessary  in  the  work¬ 
shop.  In  the  one  here  described,  a  bevel  of  any  angle 
may  be  cut.  At  the  rear  of  the  box  is  a  slotted  post, 
which  works  in  a  socket,  so  that  it  will  turn  readily  in 
any  direction.  From  the  post,  lines  are  laid  out  upon 
the  bottom  at  various  angles.  At  the  termination  of 
each  line  is  a  round  hole,  into  which  a  pin  may  be 
fitted.  The  pin  is  used  as  a  guide  for  the  saw  in  cut¬ 
ting  a  mitre-joint,  as  shown  in  the  illustration. 


THE  MANURE  HARVEST. 

In  the  midst  of  the  harvest  of  grain,  and  grass,  and 
tubers,  we  must  not  forget  the  compost  heap,  in  which 
we  garner  and  store  the  unsowed  crops  of  a  future  season. 
The  saying  that  4 ‘anything  that  grows  in  one  summer 
will  rot  before  the  next,”  is  a  safe  guide  in  collecting 
vegetable  matter  for  the  compost  heap.  When  sods, 
muck,  and  weeds  form  a  part  of  the  heap,  it  is  not  alone 
the  material  which  we  are  assiduous  in  collecting,  and 
put  into  the  heap,  that  constitutes  its  whQle  value.  The 
fermentation  induced  by  the  dung  and  liquid  manure, 
and  the  action  of  the  lime  or  ashes  added,  work  upon  the 
earth,  adhering  to  the  roots  of  the  weeds,  and  forming 
a  considerable  part  of  both  sods  and  muck,  and  develop 
an  admirable  quality  of  plant  food.  Hence  this  element 
of  the  compost  heap,  which  is  generally  overlooked  as 
possessing  any  special  value,  should  never  be  wanting. 
It  has,  moreover,  its  own  offices  to  perform,  in  pro¬ 
moting  decay,  in  the  formation  of  humus,  and  in  pre¬ 
serving,  locking  up,  and  holding  on  to  valuable  ingre¬ 
dients  of  plant  food. 

The  compost  heap  should  always  be  laid  in  even 
layers,  and  each  layer  should  go  over  the  entire  heap, 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


131 


for  thus  only  can  final  uniformity  be  had.  We  do  not 
mean  special-purpose  composts,  but  those  made  for 
general  farm  crops.  It  would  be  well  if  every  particle 
of  dung,  liquid  manure,  straw,  litter,  leaves,  weeds,  etc., 
could  be  worked  together  into  uniform  fine  compost, 
and  there  is  really  no  substantial  reason  why  this  should 
not  be  done.  The  gardener  would  plead  for  certain 
special  composts.  It  might,  perhaps,  be  well  to  make  a 
special  hen-manure  compost  for  corn  in  the  hill,  and 
taking  the  general  compost  as  a  basis,  to  make  one  for 
turnips,  by  the  addition  of  a  large  percentage  of  bone- 
dust.  All  this  may  be  done — establish  once  the  rule  to 
compost  everything  of  manurial  value,  and  we  have  in 
prospect  an  abundance  of  farm-made  fertilizers  at  all 
times  and  for  all  crops — victory  over  weeds,  a  good 
place  for  decomposable  trash  of  all  kinds,  a  sacred  burial 
ground  for  all  minor  animals  and  poultry,  whose  pre¬ 
cincts  need  never  be  invaded.  There  will  besides  be  no 
stagnating  pool  in  the  barn-yard,  for  all  liquids  will  go 
to  the  tank,  to  be  pumped  over  the  compost  heaps — no 
nasty,  slumpy  barn-yard,  for  everything  will  be  daily 
gathered  for  the  growing  compost  heap,  and  the  harvest¬ 
ing  of  the  manure  crop,  and  its  increase  day  by  day,  all 
the  year  round,  will  be  a  source  of  constant  pleasure  to 
master  and  men. 


FASTENING  CATTLE  WITH  BOWS. 

Everything  connected  with  this  method  of  fastening 
cattle  in  the  stable,  by  means  of  bows,  is  so  simple  in 
construction,  that  it  is  within  the  reach  of  every  farmer. 
It  requires  no  outlay,  as  each  one  can  make  all  the  parts 
for  himself.  The  bow,  figure  104,  passes  around  the 
animal’s  neck  in  the  same  manner  as  an  ox-bow,  and 
is  made  of  a  good  piece  of  hickory,  by  bending  a  strip 


m 


FAKM  CONTENTEitCES. 


of  the  right  length,  and  three-quarter  inch  in  diameter 
into  the  bow  form.  After  the  bow-piece,  A ,  is  made  of 
the  right  size  and  shape,  with  one  end  left  with  a  knob, 
to  nrevent  the  clasp  from  slipping  off,  and  the  other  cut 


Fig.  104.— BOW  AND  CLASP. 


as  shown  in  front  view  in  figure  104,  G ,  and  side  view  at 
Fy  to  fit  into  the  slot,  in  the  clasp,  it  is  carefully  bent 
until  its  ends  are  brought  together,  fastened,  and  left  so 
for  a  considerable  time,  when  it  will  take  its  form  and 


Fig.  105. — BOW  AND  ATTACHMENT. 


be  ready  for  use.  The  clasp  is  shown  at  B ,  D,  and  con¬ 
sists  of  a  piece  of  hard-wood — hickory  is  best — three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  and  long  enough  to 
hold  the  top  of  the  bow  well  together.  A  round  hole  is 
bored  in  one  end,  F,  through  which  the  bow  passes  as 
far  as  the  knob,  the  other  end  is  cut  with  a  hole  for  the 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


133 


passage  of  the  other  end  of  the  bow,  and  a  slot,  (7,  irto 
which  its  narrow  neck  springs  when  the  bow  is  secured 
about  the  creature’s  neck.  A  smooth,  stout  hickory 
pole,  two  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter,  reaching  from 
the  floor  to  the  beam  overhead,  serves  as  a  stanchion  to 
which  to  attach  the  animal,  by  means  of  a  small  bow, 
and  stationary  clasp,  figure  105,  or  an  iron  ring,  A.  If 
a  little  more  room  is  desired  for  young  stock,  a  link  or 
two  of  chain,  B ,  can  be  inserted  between  the  bow  and 


Fig.  106. — STABLE  SHOWING  BOW  AND  STANCHIONS. 


stanchion  ring.  In  fastening  the  cattle,  the  bow  is 
raised  when  it  passes  around  the  neck,  and  the  clasp  is 
brought  on,  and  the  end  of  the  bow  is  sprung  in  place. 
When  the  animal  is  to  be  let  loose,  the  end  of  the  bow 
is  pressed  in,  the  clasp  slips  off,  the  bow  falls,  and  the 
work  is  done  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  describe  it,  and 
everything  is  out  of  the  way.  Figure  106  show’s  a  stable 
arranged  for  this  method  of  fastening;  aside  from  the 
manger,  there  is  but  the  stanchion  poles,  one  for  each 
animal.  There  is  sufficient  freedom  of  movement  of 


IU 


i'AUti  CONVENIENCES. 


the  liead,  but  not  an  excess  ;  the  animal  can  stand  or  lid 
down  with  perfect  comfort,  as  the  bow  moves  with  ease 
the  whole  length  of  the  stanchion.  After  a  week’s 
practice,  the  animals  will  take  their  place  with  their 
heads  by  the  side  of  the  stanchion,  with  a  precision  that 
is  remarkable.  Having  used  the  method,  here  illus¬ 
trated,  for  several  years,  the  writer  has  found  it  inexpen¬ 
sive,  easy  in  application,  and  safe. 


THE  PRESERVATION  OP  WOOD. 

It  is  known  that  the  decay  of  timber  first  begins 
through  the  fermentation  of  sap  within  the  pores,  and 
that  it  is  continued  after  this  by  the  absorption  of 
water.  The  neutralization  of  the  acids  in  the  timber  by 
the  use  of  lime,  has  been  made  use  of  to  preserve  it  from 
decay  with  success;  but  the  most  effective  methods  have 
been  to  saturate  the  pores  with  oils  or  mineral  salts. 
Creosote  and  petroleum  have  been  used  successfully,  but 
few  persons  are  aware  of  the  enormous  absorptive  capa¬ 
city  of  timber  for  these  liquids.  Cypress  wood,  when 
dry,  will  absorb  thirty-nine  pounds,  or  five  gallons  of  oil 
per  cubic  foot,  and  California  redwood  and  pine  ab¬ 
sorb  twice  their  weight  when  perfectly  dry.  But  it  is 
not  necessary  for  perfect  preservation  that  timber  should 
be  fully  saturated.  One  gallon  per  cubic  foot,  for  the 
most  porous  woods,  will  be  fully  effective,  and  a  coating 
of  one  and  three-quarters  of  a  pint  per  square  foot  for 
weather  boards,  or  half  as  much  for  shingles,  will  render 
them  perfectly  water-proof.  In  some  careful  experi¬ 
ments  recently  made,  dry  spruce  absorbed,  during  two 
days’  soaking,  nearly  two  per  cent,  of  its  weight  of  water, 
and  but  one-tenth  as  much  when  treated  with  oil ;  dry 
pine  absorbed  sixteen  per  cent,  of  its  weight,  and  oiled 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


135 


pme  absorbed  none  that  could  be  ascertained  by  careful 
weighing.  Pine  has  proved  to  be  the  most  easily  water¬ 
proofed  of  any  timber.  Those  who  wish  to  preserve 
shingle  roofs,  will  be  able  to  draw  their  own  inferences 
as  to  the  usefulness  of  coating  them  with  crude 
petroleum. 


A  NEST  FOR  EGO-EATING  HENS. 

In  the  winter  season  hens  frequently  acquire  the  habit 
of  eating  eggs.  Sometimes  this  vice  becomes  so  con¬ 
firmed  that  several  hens  may  be  seen  waiting  for 
another  one  to  leave  her  nest,  or  to  even  drive  her  off, 
so  that  they  may  pounce  upon  the  egg,  the  one  that 
drops  it  being  among  the  first  to  break  it.  In  this  state 
of  affairs  there  is  no  remedy,  except  to  find  some  method 
of  protecting  the  egg  from  the  depredators.  The  easiest 
way  of  doing  this  is  to  contrive  a  nest  in  which  the  egg 
will  drop  out  of  reach.  Such  a  nest  is  shown  in  figure 
107.  It  consists  of  a  box  with  two  sloping  false  half- 
floors  ;  one  of  these  being  depressed  below  the  other 
sufficiently  to  make  a  space 
through  which  the  egg  can  roll 
down  to  the  bottom  floor.  A. 
door  is  seen  in  the  side  of  the 
nest,  through  which  the  eggs 
can  be  removed.  The  sloping 
half-floors  are  shown  by  dotted 
lines.  Upon  the  back  one,  close 
to  the  back  of  the  nest,  a  glass 

,  •  «  ,  -i  i  Fig  107.— SAFETY-NEST. 

or  other  nest-egg  is  fastened  by 

a  screw  or  by  cement.  The  false  floors  may  be  covered 
with  some  coarse  carpet  or  cloth,  and  the  bottom  floor 
with  some  chaff  or  moss,  upon  which  the  eggs  may  roll 
without  danger  of  breaking.  If  the  eggs  do  not  roll 


136 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


down  at  once,  they  will  be  pushed  down  by  the  first 
attempt  of  a  hen  to  attack  them. 


PLOWING  GEAR  FOR  A  KICKING  MULE. 

Below  is  presented  a  plan  for  hitching  a  mule  which 
has  a  habit  of  kicking  when  harnessed  to  a  plow,  but 
which  goes  very  well  in  shafts.  Kicking  is  a  vice 
which  sometimes  belongs  to  horses  as  well  as  mules,  and 
the  following  expedient  has  been  found  effective  in 


Fig.  108.— PLOWING  GEAR  FOR  KICKING  ANIMALS. 


curing  it.  Take  a  pair  of  light  shafts  from  a  wagon, 
or  make  a  pair,  and  fit  to  the  end  of  it  a  bent  strap  of 
iron,  as  shown  in  figure  108.  When  the  mule  or  horse 
is  hitched  into  the  shafts  the  end  may  trail  on  the 
ground,  and  the  beast  may  be  exercised  with  the  shafts 
alone.  When  used  to  these,  the  bent  bar  is  fastened  to  a 
plow  by  means  of  a  clevis,  and  any  difficulty  there  will 
soon  be  overcome.  This  device  has  been  used,  not  only 
for  plowing,  but  for  drawing  a  stone  boat,  railroad  cars, 
and  other  similar  vehicles. 


A  LEAF  FORK. 

A  useful  plan  for  making  a  fork  to  gather  leaves  is 
shown  in  figure  109.  The  fork  is  made  of  tough  ash, 
with  ten  teeth,  similar  to  the  fingers  of  a  cradle,  three 
feet  long,  and  slightly  turned  up.  The  head  into  which 


FA  KM  CONVENIENCES. 


137 


the  butts  of  the  teeth  are  inserted,  is  thirty  inches  long. 
A  light  cross-bar  of  tough  wood  is  fastened  to  the  teeth, 
about  eight  inches  from  the  head,  by  means  of  coppei 


Fig.  109. — FORK  FOR  GATHERING  LEAVES. 


wire  and  a  light  screw  to  each  finger.  A  handle  is  pro¬ 
vided  and  fixed  in  its  proper  place,  being  flattened  some¬ 
what  to  keep  it  from  turning  in  the  hand.  The  handle 
should  be  braced  by  two  strong  wires.  With  such  a 
fork  leaves  may  be  loaded  very  easily  and  rapidly. 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  WHEAT  GROUND. 

Wheat  demands  for  its  perfect  development,  among 
other  favorable  conditions,  besides  showers  and  sunshine, 
depth  and  richness  of  soil,  thorough  tilth,  and  freedom 
from  excess  of  moisture.  Soil  that  will  yield  good  clo¬ 
ver  will  bear  good  wheat.  Wheat  follows  corn  very  well, 
but  this  involves  rather  late  sowing.  Where  there  is  a 
market  for  new  potatoes,  which,  as  they  are  intended  for 
immediate  use,  may  be  freely  manured,  the  potato  ground 
— well  plowed  and  harrowed  with  a  dressing  of  bone- 
dust,  superphosphate,  or,  if  there  is  much  organic  mat¬ 
ter  in  the  soil,  with  a  dressing  of  lime — forms  an  admi¬ 
rable  seed-bed  for  wheat.  One  of  the  best  rotations, 
including  winter  wheat,  is  corn  on  sod,  early  potatoes, 
wheat,  clover  and  timothy,  the  grass  to  be  mowed  as 
long  as  it  is  profitable — the  manure  being  applied  in  the 


138 


FARM  COHVEXIENCES. 


hill  for  corn,  and  put  on  broadcast  very  liberally  for  the 
potatoes.  Winter  wheat  follows  none  of  the  usual  root 
crops  well,  for  it  ought  to  be  sowed  and  up  before  the 
middle  of  September,  although  it  often  does  well  sowed 
nearly  a  month  later. 

When  wheat  follows  clover,  a  crop  of  clover-hay  is 
often  taken  off  early,  and  a  second  crop  allowed  to  grow, 
which  is  turned  under  about  the  first  of  August  for 
wheat.  In  case  we  have  very  dry  weather  in  July,  the 
growth  of  clover  will  be  meagre.  If,  however,  the  clover 
stubble  be  top-dressed  at  once,  as  soon  as  the  early  crop 
is  cut,  with  a  muck  and  manure  compost,  or  any  fine 
compost,  “ dragged  in”  with  a  smoothing  harrow,  the 
second  crop  will  be  sure  to  start  well,  while  none  of  the 
manure  will  be  lost.  Lime,  or  ashes,  if  they  can  be  ob¬ 
tained,  are  to  be  spread  after  plowing  under  the  clover 
and  manure,  and  thoroughly  harrowed  in.  Forty  bush¬ 
els  of  ashes  to  the  acre  is  about  right,  and  where  hearths 
of  old  charcoal  pits  are  accessible — ashes,  charcoal-dust, 
and  baked  earth,  are  all  excellent — they  form  a  good  sub¬ 
stitute  for  ashes  and  for  lime.  Sixty  to  one  hundred 
bushels  of  evenly  dry-slaked  lime  is  a  usual  application, 
which,  if  it  could  have  been  mixed  with  an  equal  quan¬ 
tity  of  soil  or  sods  during  the  slaking,  would  be  all  the 
better. 

The  soil,  and  particularly  wheat  ground,  is  not  well 
enough  tilled  in  this  country.  We  plow  fourteen  to  six¬ 
teen-inch  furrows,  and  use  a  skim-plow ;  this  leaves  the 
surface  so  mellow,  and  covers  the  sod  so  perfectly,  that 
we  think  it  hardly  needs  harrowing  at  all,  and  only 
smooth  it  over  with  a  harrow,  and  let  it  go.  The  skim 
plow  is  a  great  advantage,  but  we  should  take  narrow 
furrows. 

The  following  practice,  on  heavy  land  especially,  is 
excellent :  Turn  under  the  first  crop  of  clover  as  deep 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


139 


as  possible,  just  before  it  is  in  full  blossom  ;  cross-plow 
the  first  or  second  week  in  August ;  then  put  on  seventy- 
five  bushels  of  lime,  or  more,  and  harrow  it  in  lightly. 
Sow  early  after  a  soaking  rain,  and  apply  at  the  time  of 
sowing  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  or  more  of  super¬ 
phosphate  to  the  acre. 


HOW  TO  DRIVE  A  HORSE-SHOE  HAIL. 

Most  farmers  hesitate  to  attempt  to  fasten  on  a  loose 
shoe  for  fear  of  injuring  the  foot  by  driving  the  nail  in 
a  wrong  direction.  It  is  such  a  saving  of  time  and 
money  to  be  able  to  put  a  shoe  upon  a  horse  in  a  hur¬ 
ried  busy  time,  that  every  farmer  ought  to  learn  how  to 
do  it.  He  may  practice  upon  a  piece  of  soft  pine  wood 
in  a  rough  way,  when  he  will  find  how  easy  it  is,  by 
properly  preparing  the  nails,  to  make  the  point  come 
out  in  exactly  the  proper  place.  To  prepare  the  nail  it 
should  be  laid  upon  the  anvil  (which  every  workshop 
should  have  for  such  work  as  this),  or  a  smooth  iron 
block,  and  beaten  out  straight.  The  point  should 
then  be  bevelled,  slightly  upon  one  of  the  flat 
sides,  and  the  point  also  bent  a  very  little  from 
the  side  which  is  bevelled.  It  will  then  be  of  the 
shape  shown  in  figure  110.  In  driving  such  a 
nail  into  a  piece  of  soft  wood,  or  a  horse’s  hoof 
which  is  penetrated  easily  in  any  direction,  if 
the  bevelled  side  is  placed  towards  the  centre  of 
the  hoof  and  away  from  the  crust,  the  point  will 
be  bent  outwards,  and  will  come  out  lower  or 
higher  on  the  crust  as  the  bevel  and  curve  is 
much  or  little.  A  little  practice  will  enable  one  Fig.  no. 
to  cause  the  point  to  protrude  precisely  at  the"~NAIL’ 
right  place.  By  turning  the  bevel  outwards,  in  driving 
the  nail,  the  course  will  be  towards  the  centre  of  the 


240 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


foot  as  shown  by  the  line  b,  in  figure  111.  The  nail 
is  sometimes  started  in  the  wrong  direction  by  careless 
blacksmiths,  and  the  horse  is  lamed  in  consequence.  If 
the  mistake  is  discovered,  and  an  attempt  made  to  draw 
out  the  nail,  a  piece  of  it  may  be  broken  off,  and  at 
every  concussion  of  the  foot  the  fragment  will  penetrate 
further,  until  it  reaches  the  sensitive  parts,  and  great 

suffering  will  follow.  Many  a  horse 
is  supposed  to  have  navicular  dis¬ 
ease  (because  that  happens  to  be 
one  of  those  obscure  affections  of 
the  foot  which  has  no  outward 
sign),  when  the  trouble  is  a  frag¬ 
ment  of  nail  broken  off  by  a  bung¬ 
ling  shoer.  We  have  examined  the 
foot  of  a  horse  which  was  killed  be¬ 
cause  of  an  incurable  lameness,  and 

Fig.Ill.— DKIVING  NAILS.  .  ,  .  „  „  ,  ...  . 

found  a  piece  of  nail  thus  bedded  in 
the  centre  of  the  foot,  surrounded  with  an  abscess  which 
had  eaten  into  the  bone.  The  torture  suffered  by  this 
horse  must  have  been  intense,  and  it  was  supposed  to  be 
a  case  of  navicular  disease,  while  the  real  cause  was  un¬ 
suspected.  In  driving  nails  into  the  hoof,  great  caution 
should  be  exercised.  The  hand,  or  the  thumb,  should 
be  held  over  the  spot  where  the  point  of  the  nail  is  ex¬ 
pected  to  come  out,  and  if  it  does  not  appear  when  it 
should  do  so,  the  nail  must  be  withdrawn.  Use  no 
split  or  imperfect  nail,  and  have  the  point  very  carefully 
prepared.  The  course  taken  by  a  nail  properly  pointed 
and  driven  is  shown  by  the  lines  curved  outwards  at  a, 
a ,  in  figure  111. 


SCREW-DRIVERS. 

To  drive  a  screw  with  a  screw-driver,  as  it  is  usually 
pointed  and  handled,  is  a  disagreeable  task.  If  the 


FABM  CONVENIENCES. 


141 


screw  goes  in  with  difficulty,  the  driver  slips  out 
of  the  groove,  or  it  cuts  the  edges  of 
the  groove  so  that  the  screw  is '  use¬ 
less.  This  is  because  the  point  of  the 
tool  is  not  ground  properly.  It  should  be 
ground  with  an  even  and  long  bevel,  at  least 
an  inch  long  in  small  tools,  and  two  inches 
in  large  ones.  The  sides  of  the  bit  should 
be  kept  straight,  and  not  tapered  oh  nor  the 
corners  ground  off  or  rounded.  There 
should  be  no  sharp  edge  ground  upon  the 
end  of  the  tool,  and  the  grinding  should  be 
lengthwise,  or  from  handle  to  point,  and  not 
crosswise.  The  edge  should  be  slightly 
rounded.  The  degree  of  roundness  given 
may  be  such  as  would  make  it  equal  to  an 
arc  of  a  circle  ten  to  twelve  inches  in  diam¬ 
eter  ;  for  small  tools  this  may  be  lessened 
considerably.  The  shape  of  a  well -pointed 
screw- driver  is  shown  in  figure  112.  Flat 
handles  should  be  abolished  as  a  nuisance  ; 
after  an  hour’s  use  of  a  driver  with  such  a 
handle,  the  hand  will  be  stiff  and  sore.  The 
handle  should  be  round.  Screw-drivers  are 
used  more  frequently  than  necessary.  We  Fi(r  112_ 
have  driven  hundreds  of  screws  in  all  sorts  sore w-dkiveb 
of  timber,  hard  white  oak  even,  with  the  hammer,  just 
as  nails  are  driven,  without  the  use  of  a  screw-driver, 
and  found  them  to  hold  perfectly  well.  This,  of  course, 
can  be  done  only  with  the  sharp  taper-pointed  screws, 
and  if  any  one  uses  the  old  blunt-pointed  kind,  he  is  too 
far  behind  the  times  to  be  much  of  a  mechanic  or 
farmer  either. 


P 


142 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


TO  PREVENT  COWS  SUCKING  THEMSELVES. 
There  are  many  devices  to  prevent  cows  from  suck¬ 
ing  themselves.  A  spiked  halter  is  shown  in  figure 
113.  A  buckle  at  the  upper  part,  behind  the  ears, 
makes  it  quite  easy  to  detach  it.  Figure  114  shows 


Fig.  113. — SPIKED  HALTER.  Fig.  114.— MAKING  THE  HALTER. 

how  the  spikes  are  secured.  The  spikes  should  not  be 
over  two  inches  in  length.  They  are  best  made  of 
wrought  nails,  which  are  sold  at  the  hardware  stores. 
They  are  placed  in  an  iron  vise  and  the  heads  flattened 
as  much  as  possible  by  pounding  with  a  hammer ;  they 
are  then  driven  into  a  piece  of  thick  leather,  and  secured 
by  sewing  or  riveting  it  upon  another  piece  of  leather, 
as  shown  at  B  in  figure  114. 


ABUSE  OF  BARN  CELLARS. 


A  great  change  has  come  over  the  farm  during  the  last 
thirty  years,  in  all  our  thrifty  farming  districts,  in  tha 
general  use  of  barn  cellars.  Formerly  such  an  arrange¬ 
ment  of  the  barn  was  a  novelty,  and  farmers  have 
slowly  learned  its  great  advantages — the  greater  com¬ 
fort  of  cattle,  the  cheaper  cleaning  of  stables,  the  more 
convenient  watering  of  stock,  the  larger  use  of  peat, 
muck,  and  headlands  in  the  compost  heap,  and  the 
greater  value  of  the  manure  made  undercover.  Now 
the  cry  is  raised  of  damage  to  fodder  and  stock  from  the 
barn  cellar.  Almost  any  good  thing  can  be  perverted 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


143 


and  become  a  nuisance,  and  it  were  strange  if  men  who 
do  not  read  much,  and  think  less,  could  not  abuse  the 
barn  cellar,  which  is  the  stomach  of  the  farm.  The 
same  kind  of  men  not  infrequently  abuse  their  own 
stomachs,  and  suffer  grievously  in  consequence.  “If 
you  make  your  barn  cellar  tight,  carbonic  acid  gas  and 
ammonia  are  thrown  off  and  injure  the  quality  of  hay 
stored  in  the  rooms  above,  and  the  health  of  the  cattle 
in  the  stables.  If  you  turn  your  pigs  into  the  cellar  to 
make  compost,  and  keep  them  from  the  air  and  the  light, 
they  become  diseased,  and  you  put  bad  meat  into  your 
barrel  to  breed  disease  in  your  family.”  These  are  not 
uncommon  complaints,  circulating  in  our  agricultural 
journals.  Well,  suppose  we  admit  these  things  to  be 
true,  what  of  it  ?  Is  there  any  necessity  for  having  a 
barn  cellar  without  ventilation  ?  If  you  leave  one  end 
open  towards  the  south,  you  certainly  have  ventilation 
enough — and  the  gases  that  are  evolved  from  fermenting 
manure  are  not  going  through  two-inch  stable  plank  and 
the  tight  siding  of  the  barn  when  they  have  the  wind  to 
carry  them  off.  If  a  barn  cellar  is  properly  managed, 
and  seasonably  furnished  with  absorbents,  the  ammonia 
will  be  absorbed  as  fast  as  it  is  formed.  There  will  be 
no  odor  of  ammonia  that  the  nostrils  can  detect.  If  the 
pigs  do  not  do  the  mixing  fast  enough,  the  shovel  and 
the  fork,  the  plow  and  the  harrow,  can  be  added.  The 
making  of  compost  under  the  barn  is  nice  work  for  rainy 
days  in  winter,  and  is  more  likely  to  pay  than  any  work 
exposed  to  the  storm.  The  keeping  of  pigs  under  the 
barn  is  a  question  of  two  sides,  and  however  we  may 
decide  it,  barn  cellars  will  stand  upon  their  own  merits. 
Any  farmer  who  makes  a  business  of  raising  pork  for 
the  market  will  find  a  well-appointed  pig-sty,  with  con¬ 
veniences  for  storing  and  cooking  food,  a  paying  invest¬ 
ment.  If  he  sees  fit  to  utilize  the  labor  of  his  pigs  by 


144 


FARM  CONVENIENCES 


making  compost  in  a  well-ventilated  barn  cellar,  their 
health  is  not  likely  to  suffer  from  the  wholesome  exer 
cise,  or  that  of  his  family  from  the  use  of  the  flesh. 
Swine,  furnished  with  a  dry  sleeping-apartment  and 
plenty  of  litter  for  a  bed,  will  keep  comfortably  clean, 
and  not  suffer  from  overwork  in  the  compost  heap.  If 
anything  is  settled  in  the  experience  of  the  last  thirty 
years,  it  is  the  economy  of  the  barn  cellar.  Our  most 
intelligent  farmers,  who  can  command  the  capital,  in« 


Fig.  115. — HAT  RACK  AND  MANGER. 


vest  in  them.  A  nice  appendage  to  them  is  a  watering 
trough  fed  by  a  spring  or  a  large  cistern  in  the  em¬ 
bankment,  to  catch  all  the  water,  and  bring  it  out  by  a 
faucet  upon  the  stable  floor  above.  This  works  admir¬ 
ably. 


EARM  CONVENIENCES. 


145 


HAY-RACK  AND  MANGER. 

A  cheap  and  convenient  hay-rack  and  manger  is 
shown  in  figure  115.  The  front  of  the  manger  should 
be  of  oak  or  other  hard  wood  plank,  two  inches  thick, 
and  one  foot  wide,  the  lower  edge  of  which  is  placed 
about  two  and  a  half  feet  from  the  floor ;  the  bottom 
should  be  one  foot  wide.  The  side  of  the  hay-rack 
is  one  foot  wide,  the  front  is  eighteen  inches  wide ; 
the  top  and  bottom  being  of  the  same  width,  so  that 
hay  will  not  lodge.  The  bottom  is  made  from  one  and 
a  half  inch  hard  board,  and  is  placed  one  foot  above  the 
top  of  the  manger.  Two  guards,  one  inch  in  diameter, 
and  one  foot  in  length,  are  placed  in  an  upright  position 
across  the  opening.  At  the  front  of  the  manger  is  a 
swinging  door,  which  is  shown  partly  open.  This  opens 
into  the  feed-passage.  The  manger  may  have  one  end 
partitioned  for  feeding  grain.  All  corners  should  be 
smoothed  and  rounded  off,  and  to  make  it  durable, 
attach  a  thin,  flat  bar  of  iron  to  the  upper  edge  of  the 
manger  by  screws  or  rivets. 


A  BARN  BASKET. 

Figure  116  shows  a  home-made  basket  or  box  for  use 
in  the  barn  or  in  gathering  crops.  It  is  made  of  two 
pieces  of  light  board,  twelve  inches  square,  for  the  ends, 
fastened  together  by  laths  sixteen,  eighteen,  or  twenty 
inches  long,  for  bottom  and  sides.  These  are  securely 
nailed.  The  handle  consists  of  a  piece  nailed  to  each 
end,  and  connected  by  a  light  bar.  This  box  is  quickly 
made,  and  will  be  found  very  handy  for  gathering  many 
crops  in  the  field,  as  it  may  be  made  to  hold  exactly  one 
bushel,  half  a  bushel,  or  any  other  definite  quantity,  by 
changing  the  size.  To  hold  a  bushel,  which  is  two 
thousand,  one  hundred  and  fifty  cubic  inches,  the  box 
7 


/ 


146 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


mav  be  scant  twenty  inches  long,  twelve  inches  wide, 
and  nine  deep,  or  scant  eighteen  inches  long,  twelve 
inches  wide,  and  eleven  inches  deep.  For  half  a  bushel. 


Fig.  116. — CONVENIENT  BARN  BASKET. 


scant  eighteen  inches  long,  ten  inches  wide,  and  six 
deep  ;  or  fifteen  inches  long,  nine  inches  wide,  and  eight 
inches  deep.  For  a  peck,  ten  inches  long,  nine  wide, 
and  six  deep  ;  or  eight  inches  square,  and  scant  eight 
and  a  half  inches  deep. 


THE  TREATMENT  OF  KICKING  COWS. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  a  kicking  cow  is  not  naturally 
disposed  to  this  vice,  but  has  been  made  vicious  by  some 
fault  of  her  owner.  There  are  few  men  who  possess  suf¬ 
ficient  patience  and  kindness  to  so  manage  a  cow,  from 
calfhood  until  she  comes  to  the  pail,  that  she  will  be 
kind  and  gentle  under  all  circumstances.  There  are 
nervous,  irritable  cows,  that  are  impatient  of  restraint, 
which  are  easily  and  quickly  spoiled  when  they  fall  into 
the  hands  of  an  owner  of  a  similar  disposition.  One 
who  is  kind  and  patient,  and  who  has  an  affection  for 
his  animals,  is  never  troubled  with  kicking  cows,  unless 


FARM  COMVENlEHCES. 


147 


he  has  purchased  one  already  made  vicious.  Unfortu¬ 
nately,  few  persons  are  gifted  with  these  rare  virtues, 
and,  therefore,  there  are  always  cows  that  have  to  be 
watched  carefully  at  milking  time. 

Cows  sometimes  suffer  from  cracked 
teats,  or  their  udders  may  be  tender 
from  some  concealed  inflammation, 
and  they  are  restless  when  milked ; 
so  that,  now  and  then,  in  the  best 
regulated  dairies,  there  will  be  cows 
that  will  kick.  Many  devices  have 
been  recommended  to  prevent  such 
cows  from  exercising  this  disagree¬ 
able  habit;  Different  methods  of 
securing  the  legs  have  been  tried. 

The  best  plan  that  we  have  heard  of, 
or  have  tried,  is  shown  in  figure  117. 

This  fetter  is  fastened  to  the  cow’s 
near  leg,  by  means  of  the  strap  in  the  centre,  the  curved 
portions  embracing  the  front  of  the  leg  above  and  below 
the  hock.  It  will  be  perceived  that,  while  the  cow  can 
move  her  leg  to  some  extent,  and  is  not  hobbled,  as 
when  the  legs  are  tied  together,  yet  she  cannot  lift  it  to 
kick,  or  to  put  her  foot  in  the  pail.  We  have  seen  this 
“ fetter”  tried  upon  a  cow  that  had  very  sore  cracked 
teats,  and  that  kicked  furiously  when  milked,  but  with 
the  fetter  she  was  unable  to  kick  or  hinder  milking. 


HOW  TO  BUILD  A  BOAT-HOUSE. 

Any  kind  of  a  house  that  is  large  enough  maybe  used, 
if  provided  with  the  needed  fittings  named  below. 
Where  the  level  of  the  water  is  liable  to  little  change, 
the  house  need  not  be  raised  much  above  the  surface  of 


148 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


V 


the  water,  but  the  floor  may  be  made  so  low  that  one  can 

easily  step  out  of  the  boat  to  the 
floor.  Of  course  there  should  be  a 
channel  made  in  the  centre  of  the 
house,  deep  enough  to  float  the 
boat  when  loaded.  The  plan  of 
the  floor  is  shown  in  figure  118, 
with  the  boat  in  the  centre.  The 
floor  should  be  protected  by  a 
light  railing  around  it  (see  figure 
119),  to  prevent  accidents  from 


Fig.  118. — PLAN  OF  HOUSE.  ..  ,  ,  in  •  . 

slipping  when  the  floor  is  wet 
Where  the  watei  level  changes,  the  house  should  be 
raised  on  posts,  or  bents,  as  may  be  necessary,  to  keep  it 


FARM  COH VENIENCEA 


149 


above  high  water.  A  hanging  ladder,  that  may  be 
drawn  up,  is  provided  for  use  at  low  water. 


WASTE  LANDS — MAKE  THEM  USEFUL. 

Waste  land  abounds  everywhere.  It  is  fenced,  and  has 
the  appearance  of  farm-land,  but  the  owner,  if  a  farmer, 
would  be  better  off  without  it  than  he  is  with  it.  No 
one  locality  seems  to  be  better  or  worse  than  another  in 
this  respect,  unless  it  be  that  the  Southern  States  have 
the  most  waste  land,  and  the  Eastern  States  come  next 
in  this  respect.  There  are  rocky  fields,  and  fields 
covered  with  loose  stones  ;  swamps  and  wet  ground,  and 
land  covered  with  wretched  brush  and  small  timber,  and 
in  the  South,  especially,  barren  and  guUied  hill-sides. 
It  is  true,  that  to  clear  up  these  lands,  and  make  them 
fruitful,  will  cost  in  labor,  if  the  labor  is  valued  at  the 
current  rates,  more  than  the  land  would  bring  if  offered 
for  sale.  But  this  is  not  the  right  way  to  look  at  this 
matter.  In  reality,  it  will  cost  nothing  to  clear  these 
lands,  because  their  owners  may  do  it  by  working  when 
they  would  otherwise  be  idle.  The  way  to  do  it  is  tc> 
set  about  it.  To  clear  an  acre  or  two  at  a  time,  of  those 
fields  that  can  be  cleared ;  and  to  plant  with  timber,  of 
some  valuable  sort,  that  ground  which  is  too  rough  for 
the  plow,  instead  of  permitting  it  to  grow  up  with  use¬ 
less  brush.  In  many  cases,  the  worst  trouble  that 
farmers  suffer  is,  that  they  have  more  land  than  they 
can  care  for,  under  their  present  system  of  management. 
Hundreds  of  farms  are  worked  as  grain  farms,  that  are 
not  well  suited  for  any  other  use  than  dairy  farms,  and 
ground  is  plowed  that  should  be  kept  in  permanent 
grass.  In  some  cases,  the  owners  of  land  have  discovered 
their  proper  vocation,  as  in  the  dairy  district  of  Central 


150 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


New  York,  in  the  fruit  and  grain  farms  of  the  western 
part  of  that  State,  in  the  pasture  farms  of  tae  blue-grass 
region  of  Kentucky,  and  in  the  corn-growing  and  pork¬ 
raising  prairies  of  the  West.  If  the  system  of  culture 
in  these  places  were  changed,  the  farmers  would  be  poor 
instead  of  being  rich,  and  one  sees  very  little  waste  land 
in  these  localities.  There  are  districts  where  the  surface 
is  hilly,  and  not  so  well  suited  for  arable  purposes  as  for 
pasture,  but  where,  instead  of  grass  and  cows,  side-hill 
plows  and  poor  corn  fields,  washed  and  gullied  by  rains, 
are  to  be  seen.  Here  are  waste  lands  in  plenty ;  and 
their  owners  show  every  sign  of  poverty  and  want  of 
thrift.  It  is  not  easy  to  change  these  circumstances 
quickly,  but  it  is  easy  to  begin — just  as  it  is  easier  to 
start  a  stone  rolling  down  a  hill,  than  to  throw  it  down 
bodily ;  and  when  it  is  once  started,  it  goes  slowly  at 
first,  and  may  need  help,  but  it  can  soon  take  care  of 
itself,  and  speedily  reaches  the  bottom.  It  is  just  so 
with  such  improvements  as  are  here  referred  to.  They 
are  necessarily  begun  slowly,  but  when  one  or  two  acres 
of  these  waste  places  are  reclaimed,  the  product  of  these 
adds  to  the  farmer’s  resources.  He  is  richer  than  before 
by  the  increased  value  of  these  acres,  and  he  is  better 
able  to  reclaim  more.  When  these  in  their  turn  are 
improved,  the  means  for  further  improvements  are 
greatly  enlarged  ;  the  ambition  of  the  man  to  excel  in 
his  vocation  is  excited,  and  he  speedily  becomes  a 
neater,  better  farmer,  and  necessarily  his  circumstances 
are  improved.  Thus  the  rough  waste  lands,  which  give 
a  disagreeable  appearance  to  the  landscape,  and  are  a 
stigma  upon  its  character  and  that  of  our  farmers,  in  the 
eyes  of  our  own  citizens  and  of  foreigners,  might  in  a 
short  time  be  improved  and  a  source  of  profit. 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


151 


A  RAT-GUARD. 

To  Keep  rats  away  from  anything  that  is  linng  up,  the 
following  simple  method  may  be  used.  Procure  the  bot¬ 
toms  of  some  old  fruit-cans,  by  melting  the  solder  which 


Fig.  120.— GUARD  AGAINST  RATS. 


holds  them  upon  a  hot  stove.  Bore  holes  in  the  centre 
of  these  disks,  and  string  a  few  of  them  upon  the  cord, 
wire,  or  rope  upon  which  the  articles  are  hung.  When 
a  rat  or  mouse  attempts  to  pass  upon  the  rope  by  climb¬ 
ing  over  the  tin  disks,  they  turn  and  throw  the  animal 
upon  the  floor.  This  plan,  shown  in  figure  120,  will  be 
found  very  effective. 


A  CRUPPER-PAD  FOR  HORSES. 

Many  horsemen  desire  a  method  by  which  to  prevent 
a  horse  from  carrying  its  tail  upon  one  side,  and  from 
clasping  the  reins  beneath  the  tail.  We  cannot  advise 
the  operation  of  “nicking,”  which  consists  in  cutting  the 
skin  and  muscles  upon  one  side  of  the  tail,  and  tying 
it  over  to  the  cut  side,  until  the  cuts  heal,  when  the 
skin,  being  drawn  together,  pulls  the  tail  permanently 
over  to  that  side.  A  different  form  of  the  operation 
causes  the  tail  to  be  carried  up  in  a  style  that  is  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  more  graceful,  and  prevents  the  horse  from 


15  % 


FAEM  CONVENIENCES. 


clasping  the  reins  when  driven.  As  a  preventive  of  both 

of  these  habits,  the  pad  shown  in 
figure  121  is  often  used  by  horse¬ 
men,  instead  of  the  cruel  and  un¬ 
necessary  operation  of  “nicking.” 
This  appliance  is  made  of  leather, 
is  stuffed  with  hair  or  wool,  and  is 
about  three  inches  in  diameter  at 
the  thickest  part,  gradually  taper¬ 
ing  toward  each  end,  where  it  is 
fastened  to  the  crupper  straps.  It 
should  be  drawn  up  close  to  the 
roots  of  the  tail,  and  by  exerting 
a  pressure  beneath  it,  the  tail  is 
carried  in  a  raised  position,  and  is 
not  thrown  over  to  one  side.  If  it  is,  a  few  sharp  tacks 
may  be  driven  into  the  inside  of  the  pad. 


A  DAM  FOR  A  FISH  POND. 

In  making  a  fish  pond,  by  placing  a  dam  across  a 
stream,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  success  depends 
upon  the  proper  construction  of  the  dam,  whether  it  be 


Fig.  122. — STAKES  ANI)  BRUSH. 


large  or  small.  Any  defect  here  will  make  the  whole 
useless.  The  main  point  in  the  construction  of  a  dam 
is,  to  have  a  complete  union  between  the  earth  of  the 
bed  and  that  of  the  dam.  This  cannot  be  done  by 


FARM  COXYEKIEKCES. 


153 


throwing  the  earth  upon  an  old  surface.  A  new  surface 
must  be  made,  solid  and  firm,  to  receive  the  new  earth. 
In  addition,  there  should  he  a  central  core  of  some  strong 
material,  that  will  serve  to  strengthen  and  bind  the  new 
construction.  In  making  a  dam  or  embankment  to  re¬ 
tain  or  exclude  water,  the  beginning  should  be  to  dig  a 
shallow  ditch,  removing  sod  or  uneven  ground,  or  if  the 
earth  is  bare,  to  disturb  it  thoroughly  with  the  pick,  so 
as  to  provide  binding  material  to  unite  with  the  bottom 
of  the  dam.  A  line  of  stakes  is  driven  into  the  ground, 
and  filled  with  brush  woven  in,  or  wattled,  as  in  figure 
122.  In  building  the  dam,  all  the  sods  and  vegetable 
matter  should  be  placed  on  the  outside,  where  these  will 
root,  and  bind  the  surface  together  ;  the  rest  of  the  earth 
should  be  well  trodden,  or  rammed  down  firmly,  and  ii 
the  soil  is  puddled  by  admixture  of  water  in  the  process 
of  ramming,  the  work  will  be  better  for  it.  The  water¬ 
way  in  the  stream  should  be  tightly  boarded  or  planked. 
Three  posts  may  be  driven  or  set  on  each  bank  of  the 
stream,  and  boards  nailed,  or  planks  spiked  for  a  larger 
structure,  so  as  to  retain  the  earth  of  the  embankments 
on  each  side,  figure  123.  A  timber  is  fitted  as  a  mud¬ 
sill,  to  the  front  and  rear  posts,  and  one  to  the  central 
posts ;  the  latter  at  such  a  height  as  will  raise  the  water 
to  the  desired  depth.  The  spaces  between  these  timbers 
are  boarded  and  planked,  and  maybe  filled  in  with  earth, 
well  rammed,  and  mixed  with  straw  and  fine  cedar  brush, 
under  the  covering.  If  it  is  desired  to  raise  the  water 
to  a  greater  depth,  loose  flash-boards  may  be  fitted  with 
cleats,  on  the  centre  of  the  waste-wTay,  or  a  wire-gauze 
fence  may  be  placed  there,  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the 
fish.  If  freshets  are  apt  to  occur,  a  sufficient  number  of 
these  waste-ways  should  be  provided  to  carry  off  the 
surplus  water,  and  prevent  overflowing  and  wasting  of 
the  dam.  The  dam  of  a  fish  pond  should  always  be 
7* 


154 


EAKM  CONVENIENCES. 


made  high,  enough  for  safety  against  overflow,  and  to 
guard  against  percolation,  and  washing  away  by  under¬ 
mining,  it  should  be  made  three  times  as  wide  as  it  is 
high,  with  slopes  of  one  and  a  half  foot  horizontal  on 


each  side,  to  one  foot  in  perpendicular  height.  Iff  any 
plants  are  set  upon  a  dam  or  embankment,  they  should 
be  of  a  small,  bushy  growth,  such  as  osier  willow,  elders, 
etc.,  but  nothing  larger,  lest  the  swaying  caused  by  high 
winds  should  loosen  and  destroy  the  bank. 


A  WAGON  JACK. 

In  figures  124  and  125  is  shown  a  most  convenient 
home-made  wagon  jack,  in  constant  use  for  ten  years, 
and  has  proved  most  satisfactory.  The  drawings  were 
made  with  such  care,  the  measurement  being  placed 
upon  them,  that  the  engravings  tell  nearly  the  whole 
story.  Figure  124  shows  the  jack  when  in  position  to 
hold  the  axle,  at  a .  When  not  in  use,  the  lever  falls 
down  out  of  the  way,  and  the  affair  can  be  hung  up  in  a 
handy  place.  Figure  125  shows  the  “  catch -board,”  and 
the  dimensions  proper  for  a  jack,  for  an  ordinary  wagon, 
buggy,  etc.  It  is  so  shaped  and  fastened  by  a  din  be- 


Earm  conveniences. 


155 


tween  the  upright  parts  of  the  jack,  that  it  is  pushed  in 
position,  d ,  tty  the  foot  at  c,  when  the  axle  is  raised ; 
and  falls  back  of  its  own  accord  when  the  lever  is  raised 
a  trifle  to  let  the  wheel  down.  All  the  parts  are  made 


of  inch  stuff,  the  foot  board,  catch,  and  lever  should  be 
of  hard  wood ;  the  upright  hoards  between  which  they 
are  placed  can  be  of  pine  or  other  soft  wood.  Persons 
who  see  this  simple  and  convenient  wagon  jack  fre¬ 
quently  say,  “Why  don’t  you  get  it  patented  ?”  but  the 
inventor  thinks  that  such  simple  things,  which  any  one 
can  make,  ought  to  be  contributed  for  the  common  good, 
and  in  the  same  spirit  we  commend  it  to  any  who  may 
be  in  need  of  a  good  wagon  jack. 


WILL  YOU  FEED  HAY  OR  WOOD? 

A  great  deal  has  been  said  and  written  about  the 
proper  time  of  cutting  hay.  The  best  time,  all  things 
considered,  is  to  cut  the  grass  just  after  it  has  come  in*"» 


154 


PAKM  CONVENIENCES. 


made  high  enough  for  safety  against  overflow,  and  to 
guard  against  percolation,  and  washing  away  by  under¬ 
mining,  it  should  be  made  three  times  as  wide  as  it  is 
high,  with  slopes  of  one  and  a  half  foot  horizontal  ok 


Fig.  123. — WASTE-GATE  FOli  POND. 


each  side,  to  one  foot  in  perpendicular  height.  Iff  any 
plants  are  set  upon  a  dam  or  embankment,  they  should 
be  of  a  small,  bushy  growth,  such  as  osier  willow,  elders, 
etc.,  but  nothing  larger,  lest  the  swaying  caused  by  high 
winds  should  loosen  and  destroy  the  bank. 


A  WAGON  JACK. 

In  figures  124  and  125  is  shown  a  most  convenient 
home-made  wagon  jack,  in  constant  use  for  ten  years, 
and  has  proved  most  satisfactory.  The  drawings  were 
made  with  such  care,  the  measurement  being  placed 
upon  them,  that  the  engravings  tell  nearly  the  whole 
story.  Figure  124  shows  the  jack  when  in  position  to 
hold  the  axle,  at  «.  When  not  in  use,  the  lever  falls 
down  out  of  the  way,  and  the  affair  can  be  hung  up  in  a 
handy  place.  Figure  125  shows  the  “  catch -board,”  and 
the  dimensions  proper  for  a  jack,  for  an  ordinary  wagon, 
buggy,  etc.  It  is  so  shaped  and  fastened  by  a  din  be- 


fARM  CONVENIENCES. 


155 


tween  the  upright  parts  of  the  jack,  that  it  is  pushed  in 
position,  by  the  foot  at  c ,  when  the  axle  is  raised ; 
and  falls  back  of  its  own  accord  when  the  lever  is  raised 
a  trifle  to  let  the  wheel  down.  All  the  parts  are  made 


of  inch  stuff,  the  foot  board,  catch,  and  lever  should  be 
of  hard  wood ;  the  upright  boards  between  which  they 
are  placed  can  be  of  pine  or  other  soft  wood.  Persons 
who  see  this  simple  and  convenient  wagon  jack  fre¬ 
quently  say,  “Why  don’t  you  get  it  patented  ?”  but  the 
inventor  thinks  that  such  simple  things,  which  any  one 
can  make,  ought  to  be  contributed  for  the  common  good, 
and  in  the  same  spirit  we  commend  it  to  any  who  may 
be  in  need  of  a  good  wagon  jack. 


WILL  YOU  FEED  HAY  OR  WOOD? 

A  great  deal  has  been  said  and  written  about  the 
proper  time  of  cutting  hay.  The  best  time,  all  things 
considered,  is  to  cut  the  grass  just  after  it  has  come  inti 


156 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


full  bloom,  though  many  think  the  preferable  time  is 
just  when  it  is  coming  into  full  blossom.  As  it  is  im¬ 
possible  to  always  mow  every  field  just  at  the  right  mo¬ 
ment,  the  general  safe  rule  is,  we  think,  to  be  all  ready 
to  begin  at  full  bloom,  and  finish  before  it  is  entirely 
past. 

There  is  this  important  fact  to  be  kept  in  mind,  viz., 
that  as  soon  as  grass  of  any  kind  has  attained  its  growth, 
and  is  full  of  juices,  it  begins  to  change  more  and  more 
into  woody  fibre,  and  that  when  fully  ripe  a  large  part 
of  the  stems  or  stalks  differ  very  little  in  composition 
from  dry  wood.  And  every  one  knows  that  dry  wood 
is  neither  easily  digested  nor  nutritious.  It  stands  to 
reason  that  a  stalk  of  grass  cut  when  it  is  full  of  juice 
containing  sugar,  gum,  and  protein  compounds,  and 
cured  thus,  must  be  more  nutritious  than  if  left  standing 
until  a  part  of  these  constituents  have  changed  into 
woody  fibre.  Feeding  hay  not  cut  until  it  is  thoroughly 
ripe,  is  giving  the  animals  that  which  is  in  part  only  so 
much  wood.  The  practical  lesson  is,  make  a  good  ready 
well  in  advance,  now,  and  have  the  barns,  mows,  stack¬ 
ing  arrangements,  mowers,  scythes,  horse  and  other 
rakes,  forks,  wagon  racks,  in  short,  all  things,  in  perfect 
order — and  the  work  planned,  so  as  not  to  let  any  hay- 
field  get  into  the  fully  ripe  condition.  Head  work  be¬ 
forehand  will  save  hard  work  and  worry,  and  secure 
better  hay. 


A  BRACE  FOR  A  KICKING  HORSE. 

Those  so  unfortunate  as  to  own  a  kicking  horse  know 
something  of  the  patience  that  it  requires  to  get  along 
with  it — and  will  welcome  anything  which  will  prevent 
the  kicking  and  finally  effect  a  cure.  The  writer  knew 
a  horse,  which  was  so  bad  a  kicker  that  after  various 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


157 


trials,  and  after  passing  through  many  hands,  and  get* 
ting  worse  all  the  time,  to  be  perfectly  cured  in  the 
course  of  three  months  by  the  use  of  the  device  here 
given.  This  is  a  simple  brace,  which  acts  upon  the  fact 
that  if  the  head  be  kept  up,  the  horse  cannot  kick.  A 
kicking  horse  is  like  a  balance,  when  one  end  goes  up,  the 
other  must  go  down.  The  brace  is  shown  in  figure  126, 
and  consists  of  a  one-half  inch  iron  rod,  which  may  be 
straight,  or,  for  the  looks,  bent  into 
a  graceful  curve.  It  is  forked  at 
both  ends  ;  the  two  divisions  of  the 
upper  end  are  fastened  to  the  two 
rings  of  the  bit,  while  the  lower  ends 
fit  upon  the  lower  portion  of  the 
collar  and  hames.  The  upper  ends 
can  best  be  fastened  to  the  bit  by 
winding  with  wire,  which  should  be 
done  smoothly,  so  as  not  to  wear 
upon  the  mouth.  The  lower  end  is 
secured  by  means  of  a  strap  fastened 
to  the  upper  loop,  and  passing 
around  the  collar  is  buckled  through 
the  hole  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
end  of  the  brace.  The  brace  need 
not  be  taken  from  the  bit  in  unhar-  12(5-— TIIE  brace. 

nessing.  Any  blacksmith  can  make  such  a  brace,  taking 
care  to  have  it  of  the  proper  length  to  fit  the  particular 
horse.  Keep  its  head  at  about  the  height  as  when 
“checked  up,”  and  the  horse  will  soon  be  cured. 


»  * 

HOW  TO  SAVE  LIQUID  MANURE. 

In  ordinary  farm  practice,  by  far  the  larger  part  of  the 
liquid  manure  of  the  stock  kept  is  lost.  No  effort  is 
made  to  save  it.  There  is  no  barn  cellar,  no  gutter  be- 


158 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


hind  the  stabled  animals,  no  absorbents.  Analysis  shows 
that  the  liquid  manure  is  quite  as  valuable  as  the  solid, 
or  even  more  so.  In  1, 000  pounds  of  fresh  horse  dung 
there  are  4.4  pounds  of  nitrogen,  3.5  of  potash,  and  3.5 
of  phosphoric  acid.  In  horse  urine  there  are  15.5  pounds 
of  nitrogen,  and  15.0  of  potash.  In  1,000  pounds  of  fresh 
cattle  dung  there  are  2.9  pounds  of  nitrogen,  1.0  of  pot¬ 
ash,  1.7  of  phosphoric  acid.  In  the  urine,  5.8  pounds 
of  nitrogen,  4.9  of  potash.  These  are  the  most  valuable 
constituents  of  manure,  and  no  farmer  can  afford  to 
have  them  so  generally  run  to  waste.  There  is  very  lit¬ 
tle  loss  where  there  is  a  gutter  well  supplied  with  absorb¬ 
ents,  and  a  barn  cellar  well  coated  with  dried  peat,  muck, 
or  headlands,  to  absorb  the  liquids  as  fast  as  they  fall. 
But  barn  cellars  are  still  in  the  minority.  Mr.  Mechi 
had  a  very  expensive  apparatus  for  distributing  the  liquid 
manure  over  his  farm,  by  means  of  tanks  and  pipes,  and 
thought  it  paid,  but  failed  to  convince  his  contemporaries 
of  the  fact.  However  that  may  be,  it  is  out  of  the  ques¬ 
tion  to  apply  liquid  manure  in  this  manner,  economic¬ 
ally,  upon  the  average  farm.  It  takes  too  much  capital, 
and  requires  too  much  labor.  By  the  use  of  absorbents, 
it  can  be  done  economically  on  a  small  or  large  scale, 
with  very  little  waste.  Some  use  a  water-tight  box, 
made  of  thick  plank,  covering  the  floor  of  the  stall. 
This  is  a  very  sure  way  to  save  everything,  and  the  only 
objection  to  it  is  the  expense  of  the  box,  and  the  in¬ 
creased  labor  of  keeping  the  stalls  clean.  We  used  for 
several  years  dried  salt-marsh  sod,  cut  in  blocks  eight  or 
ten  inches  square,  taken  from  the  surface  of  the  marsh 
in  ditching.  This  had  an  enormous  capacity  for  absorb¬ 
ing  liquids,  and  a  layer  of  these  sods  would  keep  a  horse 
or  cow  comfortably  dry  for  a  fortnight.  Kefuse  hay  or 
straw  was  used  on  top  for  purposes  of  cleanliness.  The 
saturated  sod  was  thrown  into  the  compost  heap  with 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


159 


other  manure,  where  it  made  an  excellent  fertilizer. 
Later  we  used  sawdust,  purchased  for  the  purpose  at 
1 ,70  cents  a  bushel,  as  bedding  for  a  cow  kept  upon  a 
cemented  floor.  A  bed  a  foot  thick  would  last  nearly  a 
month,  when  it  was  thrown  out  into  the  compost  heap. 
The  sawdust  requires  a  longer  time  for  decomposition, 
but  saves  the  liquid  manure.  Our  present  experiment, 
covering  several  months,  is  with  forest  leaves,  principally 
hickory,  maple,  white  ash,  and  elm.  A  bushel  of  dried 
leaves,  kept  under  a  shed  for  the  purpose,  is  added  to 
the  bedding  of  each  animal,  and  the  saturated  leaves 
are  removed  with  the  solid  manure  as  fast  as  they  accu¬ 
mulate.  The  leaves  become  very  fine  by  the  constant 
treading  of  the  animals,  and  by  the  heat  of  their  bodies, 
and  the  manure  pile  grows  rapidly.  It  is  but  a  little 
additional  labor  to  the  ordinary  task  of  keeping  animals 
clean  in  their  stalls,  to  use  some  good  absorbent,  and 
enough  of  it,  to  save  all  the  liquid  manure.  What  the 
absorbent  shall  be  is  a  question  of  minor  importance. 
Convenience  will  generally  determine  this  matter.  No 
labor  upon  the  farm  pays  better  than  to  save  the  urine 
of  all  farm  stock  by  means  of  absorbents.  These  are  in 
great  variety,  and,  in  some  form,  are  within  the  reach 
of  every  man  that  keeps  cattle  or  runs  a  farm.  Stop  this 
leak,  and  lift  your  mortgage. 


AN  OPEN  SHED  FOR  FEEDING. 

A  feeding-trough  in  a  yard,  which  can  be  covered  to 
keep  out  snow  or  rain,  is  a  desirable  thing,  and  many 
devices  have  been  contrived  for  the  purpose,  most  of 
which  are  too  costly.  We  give  herewith  a  method  of 
constructing  a  covered  feeding-trough,  which  may  be 
made  very  cheaply  of  the  rough  materials  to  be  had  on 
every  farm.  A  sufficient  number  of  stout  posts  are  set 


160 


FARM  CONVEIHEHCES. 


firmly  in  the  ground,  extending  about  ten  fed  above  the 
surface.  They  should  be  about  six  feet  apart  and  in  a 
straight  line,  and  a  plate  fastened  to  their  tops.  A  pan 


of  rafters  supported  by  braces,  as  shown  in  figure  127, 
is  fitted  to  each  post.  A  light  roof  of  laths  is  laid,  and 
covered  with  bark,  straw,  corn-stalks,  or  coarse  hay. 
Strips  are  fastened  from  one  brace  to  another,  and  laths 
or  split  poles  nailed  to  them,  about  six  inches  apart,  to 
make  a  feed-rack.  A  feed-trough  for  grain  or  roots  is 
built  upon  each  side.  For  sheep,  the  shed  and  rack  may 
be  made  only  eight  feet  high  at  the  peak,  and  the  eaves 
four  feet  from  the  ground  ;  giving  better  shelter. 


A  SHADE  FOR  HORSES’  EYES. 

The  most  frequent  cause  of  weak  eyes  in  horses  is  a 
badly-arranged  stable.  Foul  gases  irritate  and  inflame 
the  tender  membranes  of  the  eye  and  head,  and  horses 
brought  from  dark  stables  into  bright  sunlight,  or  onto 
glittering  snow,  are  dazzled  and  blinded.  The  existing 
weakness  or  irritation  is  intensified,  and  the  poor  animal 
suffers  unsuspected  torments.  The  remedy  is  to  purify 
the  stable  and  give  it  sufficient  light,  shaded  by  blinds, 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


161  ' 


from  before  and  behind  the  horse,  or  from  both  sides, 
avoiding  a  light  from  only  the 
front,  rear,  or  one  side  light. 

A  shade  for  weak  or  inflamed 
eyes  may  be  constructed  by 
fastening  wires  to  the  bridle 
and  covering  it  with  oiled 
cloth  in  the  manner  repre¬ 
sented  in  figure  128.  Thus 
a  soft,  subdued  light  reaches 
the  eves,  while  the  horse  can 
still  see  the  ground  immedi¬ 
ately  before  him.  It  will  be 
a  timely  job  to  prepare  such  Fig.138.~To  protect  the  eyes, 
%  shade  for  use  before  the  snow  of  winter  comes. 


TEST  ALL  SEEDS— IMPORTANT. 

No  one  can,  by  merely  looking  at  them,  positively  tell 
whether  any  particular  lots  of  field,  garden,  or  flower 
seeds  have  or  have  not  sufficient  vitality  of  germ  to  start 
into  vigorous  growth.  Yet  it  is  a  severe  loss,  often  a 
disastrous  one,  to  go  through  with  all  the  labor  and  ex¬ 
pense  of  preparation  and  planting  or  sowing,  and  find 
too  late  that  the  crop  is  lost  because  the  seeds  are  de¬ 
fective.  All  this  risk  can  be  saved  by  a  few  minutes’ 
time  all  told,  in  making  a  preliminary  test,  and  it 
should  be  done  before  the  seed  is  wanted,  and  in  time  to 
get  other  seed  if  necessary.  Seeds  may  not  have  ma¬ 
tured  the  germ  ;  it  may  have  been  destroyed  by  heat  or 
moisture ;  minute  insects  may  have,  unobserved,  punc¬ 
tured  or  eaten  out  the  vital  part  of  a  considerable  per¬ 
centage. 

Select  from  the  whole  mass  of  the  seed,  one  hundred, 
or  fifty,  or  even  ten  seeds,  that  will  be  a  fair  sample  of 


162 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


all.  For  larger  seeds,  as  wheat,  corn,  oats,  peas,  etc.j 
take  a  thin,  tough  sod,  and  scatter  the  counted  seeds 
upon  the  earth  side.  Put  upon  the  seeds  another  simi¬ 
lar  sod,  earth  side  down.  Set  this  double  sod  by  the 
warm  side  of  the  house  or  other  building,  or  of  a  tight 
fence,  moistening  it  occasionally  as  needed.  If  very  cold, 
cover,  or  remove  to  the  kitchen  or  cellar  at  night.  The 
upper  sod  can  be  lifted  for  observation  when  desirable. 
The  swelling  and  starting  of  the  seeds  will  in  a  few  days, 
according  to  the  kind,  tell  what  percentage  of  them  will 
grow — a  box  of  earth  will  answer  instead  of  sods,  both 
for  large  and  small  seeds.  Small  seeds  of  vegetables  or 


Fig.  129. — HOME-MADE  ROLLER. 


flowers,  and  even  larger  ones,  may  be  put  into  moist  cot¬ 
ton,  to  be  kept  slightly  moist  and  placed  in  the  sun  or 
in  a  light  warm  room.  For  small  quantities  of  valuable 
flower  seeds  and  the  like,  half  a  dozen  will  suffice  for  a 
trial  test.  With  any  seed,  for  field  or  garden,  however 
good,  it  is  always  very  desirable  and  useful  to  know  ex¬ 
actly  how  many  or  few  are  defective,  and  thus  be  able  to 
decide  how  much  seed  to  use  on  an  acre,  or  other  plot. 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


163 


A  FIELD  ROLLER. 

A  very  good  field  roller  may  be  easily  made  in 
winter,  when  timber  is  being  cut.  Use  a  butt-log  of  an 
oak  tree,  in  the  form  shown  in  figure  129.  The  log 
need  not  be  a  very  large  one,  because  the  frame,  in  which 
it  is  mounted,  enables  it  to  be  loaded  to  any  reasonable 
extent,  and  the  driver  may  ride  upon  it,  and  thus  add 
to  the  weight.  A  roller  will  be  found  very  valuable 
in  the  spring  when  repeated  frosts  have  raised  the  ground 
and  thrown  out  the  stones. 


A  PORTABLE  SLOP  BARREL. 

A  barrel  mounted  upon  wheels,  as  shown  in  figure 
130,  will  be  found  useful  for  many  purposes  about  the 
farm,  garden,  or  household.  The  barrel  is  supported 
upon  a  pair  of  wheels,  the  axles  of  which  are  fastened  to 


Fig.  130. — PORTABLE  BARREL  FOR  SLOPS. 


a  frame  connected  with  the  barrel  by  means  of  strap's 
bolted  to  the  sides.  The  frame  may  be  made  of  iron 
bent  in  the  form  shown  in  figure  131,  or  of  crooked  tim¬ 
ber  having  a  sufficient  bend  to  permit  the  barrel  to  be 
tipped  for  emptying.  A  pair  of  handles  are  provided,  as 
shown  in  the  engraving.  When  not  in  use,  the  barrel 
rests  upon  the  ground,  and  may  be  raised  by  bearing  down 
upon  the  handles.  The  barrel  may  be  made  to  rest  in 
notched  bearings  upon  the  frame,  so  that  by  raising  the 


164 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


handles,  the  wheels  may  be  drawn  away  from  the 
barrel,  and  the  latter  left  in  a  convenient  place  until  it 
needs  removal.  This  contrivance  will  be  useful  for  feed- 


- m  - — 

If 

Fig.  131.—  Pi, AN  OF  FRAME  OF  BARREL. 


Ing  slops  to  pigs,  or  for  removing  the  waste  of  the  house 
to  the  barn-yard. 


WHERE  AND  HOW  TO  APPLY  FERTILIZERS. 

It  is  often  difficult  to  decide — for  barn-yard  or  stable 
manures,  or  for  any  artificial  fertilizer — whether  to  use 
it  in  the  hill  or  broadcast  it ;  and  whether  to  apply  it  on 
the  surface,  or  bury  it  deeply.  Here  is  a  hint  or  two. 
If  not  strong  enough  to  injure  the  first  tender  roots,  a 
little  manure  near  at  hand  gives  the  plant  a  good  send- 
off,  like  nourishing  food  to  the  young  calf  or  other  ani¬ 
mal  ;  the  after-growth  is  much  better  if  the  young  ani¬ 
mal  or  plant  is  not  dwarfed  by  imperfect  and  insufficient 
diet.  Therefore,  drilling  innocuous  hand  fertilizers  in 
with  the  seed  is  useful,  as  is  putting  some  well-rotted 
manure  or  leached  ashes  into  hills  of  corn,  potatoes,  in¬ 
deed  with  all  planted  seeds.  But  there  aro  good  reasons 
for  distributing  most  of  the  manures  or  fertilizers  all 
through  the  soil,  and  as  deeply  as  the  plant  roots  can 
possibly  penetrate.  The  growth  and  vigor  of  all  plants 
or  crops  depend  chiefly  upon  a  good  supply  of  strong 
roots  that  stretch  out  far,  and  thus  gather  food  over  the 
widest  extent  of  soil.  If  a  flourishing  stalk  of  corn, 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


165 


grain  or  grass,  be  carefully  washed,  so  as  to  leave  all  its 
roots  or  rootlets  attached,  there  will  be  found  a  wonder¬ 
ful  mass  of  hundreds  and  even  thousands  of  roots  to  any 
plant,  and  they  extend  off  a  long  distance,  frequently 
several  feet — the  farther  the  better,  to  collect  more  food 
and  moisture.  Put  some  manure  or  fertilizer  in  pl'ace 
two  feet  away  from  a  corn  or  potato  hill,  or  from  almost 
any  plant,  and  a  large  mass  of  roots  will  go  out  in  that 
direction.  So,  if  we  mix  manures  or  fertilizers  well 
through  the  whole  soil,  they  attract  these  food-seeking 
roots  to  a  greater  distance  ;  and  they  thus  come  in  con¬ 
tact  with  more  of  the  food  already  in  the  soil,  and  find 
more  moisture  in  dry  weather.  A  deeply-stirred  soil, 
with  manure  at  the  bottom,  develops  water-pumping 
roots  below  the  reach  of  any  ordinary  drouth,  and  the 
crops  keep  right  on  growing — all  the  more  rapidly  on 
account  of  the  helpful  sun’s  rays  that  would  scorch  a 
plant  not  reaching  a  deep  reservoir  of  moisture. 


A  MILL  FOR  CRUSHING  BONES. 

To  save  the  expense  of  a  purchased  bone-mill,  one  may 
be  made  as  described  below,  which  will  crush  them  into 
a  condition  much  more  valuable  for  manure  than  the 
whole  bones,  if  not  quite  as  good  as  if  finely  ground. 
Make  a  circular  mould  of  boards,  six  feet  wide  and  two 
feet  deep.  Hoops  of  broad  band-iron  are  fitted  to  the 
inside  of  the  mould,  and  secured  to  it  about  one  inch 
apart.  The  mould  is  then  filled  with  a  concrete  of  Port¬ 
land  cement,  sand,  and  broken  stone.  Place  in  the  con¬ 
crete  when  filling  binding  pieces  of  flat  bar-iron,  to  pre¬ 
vent  the  mass  from  cracking  when  in  use.  In  the  cen¬ 
tre  place  squares  of  band-iron,  as  a  lining  for  a  shaft  by 
which  the  crusher  is  turned.  When  the  concrete  is  set 
and  hardened,  the  frame  may  be  taken  apart ;  and,  as  in 


166 


EAEM  CONVENIENCES. 


setting  tlie  concrete  will  expand  somewhat,  the  iron 
bands  around  the  mass  will  be  found  to  have  become  a 
tight  solid  facing  to  the  wheel.  The  wheel  is  then  set 
up  on  edge,  and  a  square  shaft  of  yellow  pine,  six  inches 
thick,  is  wedged  into  the  central  space.  This  shaft  is 
fitted  to  an  upright  post  by  a  loose  band  of  iron  and  a 
swivel  joint,  so  that  the  wheel  may  be  made  to  revolve 
around  it.  Any  other  suitable  connection  may  be  used 
for  this  purpose.  A  hollow  trough  of  broken  stone  and 
well  rammed  concrete  is  then  laid  in  the  track  of  the 


Fig.  132. — HOME-MADE  BONE-MILL. 


wheel  as  it  revolves,  and  the  crusher  is  complete  and 
ready  for  a  pair  of  horses  to  be  attached  to  it,  figure  132. 
A  crusher  of  this  kind  may  be  put  up  at  a  country  mill, 
or  as  a  joint  affair  by  a  few  farmers  uniting  their  efforts, 
and  thus  utilizing  a  valuable  fertilizing  material,  which 
is  now  wasted  for  want  of  means  to  render  it  available. 


LIME  AND  LIMESTONE. 

In  the  first  place,  limestone,  marble,  calc-spar,  chalk 
(of  rare  occurrence  in  this  country),  marl,  and  oyster,  and 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


16? 


other  shells,  are  all  essentially  the  same  in  composition, 
however  they  may  differ  in  texture,  form,  and  other  par¬ 
ticulars.  They  are  all  different  forms  of  the  carbonate 
of  lime ;  that  is,  they  consist  of  the  alkaline  earth,  lime, 
in  combination  with  carbonic  acid,  and  in  the  case  of 
shells,  with  animal  matter.  As  a  general  thing,  we  only 
know  carbonic  acid  as  a  gas.  It  has  a  very  weak  hold 
of  the  lime,  for  if  we  drop  a  fragment  of  limestone  into 
strong  vinegar,  the  acetic  acid  of  the  vinegar  will  unite 
with  the  lime  (forming  acetate  of  lime),  while  the  car¬ 
bonic  acid,  being  set  free,  will  be  seen  to  pass  off  in  small 
bubbles.  In  this  case  we  free  the  lime  from  its  carbonic 
acid,  by  presenting  to  it  a  stronger  acid,  that  of  vinegar. 
But  if  instead  of  using  another  acid  to  displace  the  car¬ 
bonic  acid,  we  place  limestone  in  any  of  its  forms,  in  a 
strong  fire,  the  carbonic  acid  will  be  driven  off  by  the 
heat,  and  there  will  be  left,  simply  lime.  This  is  called 
quick  lime,  or  caustic  lime,  and  by  chemists  oxide  of 
the  metal  calcium,  or  calcium  oxide.  Lime,  then,  is 
limestone  without  its  carbonic  acid.  All  the  forms  of 
limestone  are  very  little  soluble  in  water;  lime  itself  is 
more  soluble,  though  but  slightly  so,  requiring  at  ordi¬ 
nary  temperatures  about  seven  hundred  times  its  own 
weight  of  water,  yet  it  gives  a  marked  alkaline  taste  to 
water  in  which  it  is  dissolved.  Lime  in  this  condition, 
as  quick  lime,  or  when  combined  with  water,  “  slaked  ” 
as  it  is  called,  is  much  employed  in  agriculture.  A 
small  portion  of  lime  is  required  by  plants,  but  the 
chief  use  of  lime,  when  applied  to  the  soil,  is  to  bring 
the  vegetable  matters  contained  in  the  soil  into  a  condi¬ 
tion  in  which  they  can  be  used  as  plant  food.  This  ap¬ 
plication  of  lime  as  a  fertilizer  has  long  been  followed  by 
farmers,  and  in  many  cases  with  the  most  beneficial  re¬ 
sults.  Within  a  year  or  so  great  claims  have  been  made 
for  ground  limestone,  especially  by  the  makers  of  mills 


168 


1'AILU  CONVENIENCES. 


for  grinding  it ;  some  of  these  have  asserted  that  it  was 
superior  to  burned  lime,  and  superior  to  nearly  all  other 
fertilizers.  The  question  which  most  interests  farmers 
is,  has  limestone,  however  fine  it  may  be,  any  value  as  a 
fertilizer  ?  To  this  the  answer  would  be  both  “  yes  ”  and 
“no.”  Upon  a  heavy  clay  soil  the  carbonate  of  lime,  or 
limestone  in  any  form,  appears  to  have  a  beneficial  ef¬ 
fect  ;  it  makes  such  soils  friable  and  open,  so  that  water 
and  air  may  penetrate  them.  While  its  action  upon  the 
vegetable  matter  in  the  soil  is  far  less  prompt  and  ener¬ 
getic  than  that  of  quick-lime,  yet  its  presence,  affording 
a  base  with  which  any  acid  that  may  be  present  in  the 
soil  may  unite,  is  often  beneficial.  To  extol  ground 
limestone  as  “the  great  fertilizer  of  the  age,”  to  even 
claim  that  it  is  equal  to  lime  itself,  is  a  mistake.  Both 
have  their  uses.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  by  inquir¬ 
ers  about  the  value  of  ground  limestone,  that  many  soils 
already  contain  more  lime  in  this  form  than  can  ever  be 
utilized,  and  need  no  addition. 


A  FARM  WHEELBARROW. 

The  wheelbarrow  is  an  indispensable  vehicle  on  the 
farm  and  in  the  garden.  Applied  to  hard  uses  it  needs 


Fig.  133. — FARM  WHEELBARROW. 


to  be  strong  and  durable.  A  barrow  of  the  ordinary  kind, 
used  on  farms,  soon  becomes  weak  in  the  joints  and  falls 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


169 


to  pieces.  The  movable  sides  are  inconvenient,  and  the 
shape  necessarily  adopted  when  movable  sides  are  used 
greatly  weakens  the  structure.  It  will  be  noticed  at  first 
sight  that  the  wheelbarrow,  shown  in  figure  133,  is  most 
strongly  supported  and  braced,  that  the  box,  instead  of 
weakening  it,  greatly  strengthens  it,  and  that  it  is  stout 
and  substantial.  It  is  put  together  at  every  part  by 
strong  bolts,  and  can  be  taken  apart  to  pack  for  transpor¬ 
tation,  if  desired,  and  a  broken  part  readily  replaced. 


TO  PREVENT  THE  BALLING  OF  HORSES. 

When  the  snow  upon  the  roads  is  cohesive  and  packs 
firmly,  it  collects  upon  the  feet  of  horses,  forming  a  hard, 
projecting  mass,  in  a  manner  known  as  “  balling.”  This 
often  occurs  to  such  an  extent  as  to  impede  the  motion 
of  the  horse,  while  it  causes  the  animal  great  discomfort, 
and  is  sometimes  dangerous  to  the  rider  or  driver.  The 
trouble  may  be  prevented  very  easily  by  the  use  of  gutta¬ 
percha.  For  this  purpose  the  gutta-percha  should  be 
crude,  i.  e. ,  not  mixed  with  anything  or  manufactured 
in  any  manner,  but  just  as  imported.  Its  application 
depends  upon  the  property  which  the  gum  has  of  soften¬ 
ing  and  becoming  plastic  by  heat,  and  hardening  again 
when  cold.  To  apply  it,  place  the  gutta-percha  in  hot 
water  until  it  becomes  soft,  and  having  well  cleansed  the 
foot,  removing  whatever  has  accumulated  between  the 
shoe  and  hoof,  take  a  piece  of  the  softened  gum  and  press 
it  against  the  shoe  and  foot  in  such  a  manner  as  to  fill 
the  angle  between  the  shoe  and  the  hoof,  taking  care  to 
force  it  into  the  crack  between  the  two.  Thus  filling 
the  crevices,  and  the  space  next  the  shoe,  where  the  snow 
most  firmly  adheres,  the  ball  of  snow  has  nothing  to  hold 
it,  and  it  either  does  not  form,  or  drops  out  as  soon  as  it 
8 


170 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


is  gathered.  When  the  gutta-percha  is  applied,  and  well 
smoothed  off  with  the  wet  fingers,  it  may  be  hardened 
at  once,  to  prevent  the  horse  from  getting  it  out  of  place 
by  stamping,  by  the  application  of  snow  or  ice,  or  more 
slowly  by  a  wet  sponge  or  cloth.  When  it  is  desired  to 
remove  the  gum,  the  application  of  hot  water  by  means 
of  a  sponge  or  cloth  will  so  soften  it  that  it  may  be  taken 
off.  As  the  softening  and  hardening  may  be  repeated 
indefinitely,  the  same  material  will  last  for  years.  For 
a  horse  of  medium  size,  a  quarter  of  a  pound  is  sufficient 
for  all  the  feet. 


TO  PREVENT  CATTLE  THROWING  FENCES. 

To  prevent  a  cow  from  throwing  fences  or  hooking 
other  cows,  make  a  wooden  strip  two  and  a  half  inches 
wide  and  three-quarters  of  an  inch  thick,  and  attach  it 

to  the  horns  by  screws  ;  to  this  is 
fastened,  by  a  small  bolt,  a  strip  of 
hardwood,  three  inches  wide,  half 
an  inch  thick,  and  of  a  length  suf¬ 
ficient  to  reach  downward  within 
an  inch  of  the  face,  and  within  two 
or  three  inches  of  the  nostrils.  In 
the  lower  end  of  this  strip  are  pre¬ 
viously  driven  several  sharp  nails, 

which  project  about  one-quarter 
Fig.  134.— cattle  check.  ^  an  jnc]1#  The  arrangement  is 

shown  in  figure  134;  the  strip,  when  properly  attached, 
allows  the  animal  to  eat  and  drink  with  all  ease,  but 
when  an  attempt  is  made  to  hook  or  to  throw  a  fence, 
the  sharpened  nails  soon  cause  an  abrupt  cessation  of 
that  kind  of  mischief. 


FARM  CONVENIENCES 


171 


FEED  BOXES. 

In  figure  135  a  box  is  sliown  firmly  attached  to  two 
posts.  It  has  a  hinged  cover,  p,  that  folds  over,  and 
may  be  fastened  down  by  inserting  a  wooden  pin  in  the 


Fig.  135. — COVERED  FEED  BOX. 


top  of  the  post  near  n .  The  one  given  in  figure  136 
may  be  placed  under  shelter,  along  the  side  of  a  building 
or  fence.  One  side  of  the  top  is  hinged  to  the  fence 


Fig.  136. — HINGED  FEED  BOX. 


or  building,  the  bottom  resting  upon  a  stake,  e .  When 
not  in  use,  the  box  may  be  folded  up,  the  end  of  the 
strap,  b,  hooking  over  the  pin,  a ,  at  the  side  of  the  box. 


172 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


A  good  portable  box,  to  be  placed  upon  the  ground,  is 
shown  in  figure  137.  It  is  simply  a  common  box,  with  a 
strip  of  board,  7i,  nailed  on  one  side  and  projecting  about 


Fig.  137. — PORTABLE  PEED  BOX. 


eight  inches.  When  not  in  use,  it  is  turned  bottom  up, 
as  shown  in  figure  138.  The  projecting  strip  prevents 
three  sides  of  the  box  from  settling  into  the  mud  or  snow. 
The  strip  is  also  a  very  good  handle  by  which  to  carry  it. 


Fig.  138. — PEED  BOX  INVERTED. 

Those  who  now  use  portable  boxes  will  find  the  attach¬ 
ing  of  this  strip  a  decided  advantage.  A.  very  serviceable 
portable  feed  box  is  made  from  a  section  of  half  a  hollow 


Fig.  139. — BOX  PROM  HOLLOW  LOG. 

log,  with  ends  nailed  on,  as  shown  in  figure  139.  Bv  let¬ 
ting  the  ends  project  above  the  sides  four  or  five  inches, 
it  may  be  turned  over  when  not  in  use,  and  easily  turned 


FARM  COXYEKIEHCES. 


173 

back  by  grasping  the  sides  without  the  hand  coming  in 
contact  with  earth  or  snow.  All  feed  boxes  and  racks 
should  be  placed  under  shelter  during  summer,  or  when 
not  in  use. 


A  CATTLE  TIE. 

Judging  from  the  numerous  stanchions  and  arrange¬ 
ments  for  fastening  cattle  in  stalls,  illustrated  from  time 
to  time  in  the  public  prints,  the  perfect  cattle-fastening 
has  not  yet  been  invented.  We  do  not  claim  perfection 
for  the  arrangement  given  in  figure  140,  but  it  will  be 
difficult  to  devise  a  cheaper  one,  and  we  doubt  if  any 
better  or  more  satisfactory  one  is  in  use.  The  fastening 
consists  of  a  three-fourth  inch  rope,  which  is  run 
through  the  partitions  of  the  stalls,  one  long  rope  being 
used  for  the  tier  of  stalls,  although  short  pieces  may  be 
employed  if  desired.  This  rope  is  knotted  on  either  side 


Fig.  140.— CATTLE  TIE. 


of  each  partition,  and  a  good  swivel  snap  for  use  with  a 
rope,  is  tied  in  the  rope  in  front  of  the  centre  of  each 
stall.  The  rope  should  pass  over,  very  nearly,  the  front 


FARM  COMVRKIEKCES. 


m 

of  the  manger — from  the  side  of  the  cattle — and  for 
cattle  of  ordinary  hight,  it  ought  to  be  about  two  feet 
from  the  floor.  When  put  in,  the  rope  should  be  drawn 
up  tightly,  as  it  will  soon  acquire  considerable  and 
sufficient  slack  from  the  constant  strain  from  the  ani¬ 
mals.  With  this  arrangement  each  cow  must  be  pro¬ 
vided  with  a  strap  or  rope  about  the  neck,  the  rope  or 
strap  being  supplied  with  a  free-moving  iron  ring. 
When  the  animal  is  put  in  the  stalls  the  snap  is  fastened 
in  the  ring,  and  if  the  snap  is  a  good  one — none  but  the 
best  swivel  snaps  should  be  used — an  animal  will  rarely 
get  free  from  it.  This  fastening,  it  will  be  noticed, 
admits  of  considerable  fore  and  aft  motion,  and  but 
slight  lateral  movement.  The  cost  of  this  arrangement 
it  is  difficult  to  state  accurately,  it  is  so  small.  The 
rope  for  each  stall  will  cost  less  than  five  cents  ;  the 
snaps  will  cost  ten  cents  when  bought  by  the  dozen, 
and  the  time  of  putting  these  fittings  in  each  stall  is 
less  than  fifteen  minutes.  The  rope  will  wear  two  years 
at  least. 


A  BEEF  RAISER. 

Two  posts  are  set  about  fifteen  feet  high.  A  deep 
mortise  is  cut  in  the  top  of  each  to  receive  the  roller, 
which  is  grooved  at  the  points  of  turning.  One  end  of 
the  roller  extends  beyond  the  post,  and  through  this 
end  three  two-inch  holes  are  bored.  Three  light  poles 
are  put  through  these  holes,  and  their  ends  connected 
by  a  light  rope.  In  raising  the  beef  the  middle  of  a 
stout  rope  is  thrown  over  the  roller  ;  the  ends  are  drawn 
through  the  loop,  and  after  the  beef  is  fastened  to  the 
loose  ends  the  roller  is  turned  against  the  loop  by  means 
of  the  “  sweep,”  or  lever  arms,  figure  141.  A  heavy 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


175 


beef  can  be  easily  raised,  and  may  be  fastened  at  any 


Aight  desired,  by  tying  the  end  of  one  of  tbe  levers  to 
the  post  with  a  short  rope. 


A  CEDAR  STEM  SOIL-STIRRER. 

A  convenient  and  quickly-made  implement  for  stirring 
and  mixing  manure  and  fertilizers  with  the  soil,  may  be 


Fig.  142. — A  STIRRER  MADE  OF  A  CEDAR  STEM. 


made  as  follows  :  A  cedar  stem  is  cut  about  eight  feet 
long,  and  the  branches  cut  off  several  inches  from  the 
stem,  leaving  long  spurs  on  all  sides  for  its  whole  length, 
as  shown  in  figure  142.  A  horse  is  hitched  by  a  chain 


176 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


to  toe  butt  end,  and  the  driver  guides  the  implement  by 
a  rope  fastened  to  the  rear  end  of  the  stem.  By  means 
of  the  guide-rope  the  implement  may  be  lifted  over  or 
around  obstacles,  and  turned  at  the  end  of  the  field. 
Such  an  implement  is  specially  useful  in  mixing  fertil¬ 
izers  with  the  soil,  when  applied  in  drills  for  hoed  crops, 


A  HINT  FOR  PIG  KILLING. 

Lay  a  log  chain  across  the  scalding  trough,  and  pul 
the  pig  upon  it.  Cross  the  chain  over  the  animal,  aa 


Fig.  143. — SCALDING  A  PIG. 


shown  in  figure  143.  A  man  at  each  end  of  the  chain 
can  easily  turn  the  pig  in  the  scald,  or  work  it  to  and 
fro  as  desired. 


MENDING  BROKEN  TOOLS. 

Farming  tools,  such  as  shovels,  rakes,  forks,  etc.,  that 
are  much  used,  will  often,  through  carelessness  or  acci¬ 
dent,  become  broken,  and,  with  most  men,  that  means  to 
be  thrown  one  side,  as  utterly  useless.  By  exercising  a 
little  ingenuity,  they  could  in  a  short  time  be  fitted  up 
to  do  service  for  several  years.  The  head  of  hand-rakes 
often  becomes  broken  at  the  point  where  the  handle  en¬ 
ters,  and  not  unfrequently  the  handle  itself  is  broken  off 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


17? 


where  it  enters  the  head.  In  either  case  the  break  is 
easily  made  good  by  attaching  a  small  piece  of  wood  to 


the  head,  by  small  nails  or  screws,  as  shown  in  figure 
144.  Should  the  head  be  broken  where  one  of  the  bows 


Fig.  145. — MENDING  A  SHOVEL. 

passes  through,  it  may  be  mended  in  a  like  manner,  b . 
Shovels  and  spades,  owing  to  the  great  strain  to  which 

8* 


17b 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


they  are  often  subjected,  especially  by  carelessly  prying 
with  them,  crow-bar  fashion,  are  frequently  broken,  and 
usually  at  the  point  where  the  wood  enters  the  blade. 
This  break,  bad  as  it  is,  should  not  consign  the  broken 
parts  to  the  rubbish  pile,  especially  if  the  blade  and  the 
handle  be  otherwise  in  fair  condition.  Remove  the  iron 
straps  or  ferule  from  the  handle  ;  firmly  rivet  a  strip  of 
iron,  a,  figure  145,  on  top  of  the  handle,  and  a  similar 
one  underneath,  to  the  blade  and  handle,  as  shown  in 
the  engraving.  Other  broken  tools  may  be  made  to  do 
good  service  by  proper  mending. 


A  LARGE  FEED-RACK. 

The  width  of  the  rack  is  seven  feet,  but  it  can  he  any 
length  desired ;  hight,  ten  feet ;  hight  of  manger,  two 
and  a  half  feet ;  width,  one  and  one- half  foot.  Cattle 
can  eat  from  both  sides.  The  advantage  of  such  a  rack. 


Fig.  146.— A  LARGE  YARD  FODDER-RACK. 

shown  in  figure  146,  is  that  it  will  hold  a  large  quantity 
of  feed,  and  so  securely  that  very  little  can  be  wasted  by 
the  feeding  animals. 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


179 


BARN  DOOR  FASTENING. 

One  of  the  best  bams  in  the  country  has  its  large 
double  doors  fastened  by  a  bar  of  iron,  about  six  feet 
long,  which  is  bolted  to  one  of  the  doors  at  its  middle 
point.  The  ends  of  the  bar  are  notched,  one  upon  the 
upper  and  the  other  on  the  under  side,  to  fit  oyer  sock¬ 
ets  or  “  hooks  ”  that  are  bolted  to  the  doors.  One  hook 


Fig.  147. — IKON  BAR  DOOR  FASTENING. 


bends  upward,  and  the  other  downward,  and  the  bar 
moves  in  the  arc  of  a  circle  when  the  door  is  being  un¬ 
fastened  or  bolted.  The  construction  of  this  door  fast¬ 
ening  is  shown  in  figure  147.  A  wooden  bar  may  replace 
the  iron  one,  and  may  be  of  a  size  and  length  sufficient 


Fig.  148. — WOODEN  BAR  DOOR  FASTENING. 


to  make  the  fastening  secure.  A  wooden  bar  is  shown 
in  figure  148.  Such  a  method  of  fastening  could  be 
used  for  a  single  door,  provided  it  needs  to  be  opened 
and  closed  only  from  the  inside.  By  putting  a  pin  in 


ISO 


FARM  COXVEXlEXCES. 


the  bai  near  the  end  that  passes  by  the  door-post,  so  that 
it  will  reach  through  a  slot  in  the  door,  such  a  *•' latch  ” 
might  be  used  for  any  door. 


A  "FORK”  STABLE  SCRAPER. 

A  very  handy  stable  scrape/  is  made  of  an  inch  board, 
five  inches  wide,  and  about  eight  inches  longer  than  the 
width  of  a  four-tined  fork.  Bore  a  hole  for  each  tine 
a  quarter  inch  in  diameter  from  the  edge  of  the  board 
to  about  two  inches  from  the  opposite  edge,  the  holes 
passing  out  upon  the  side.  The  lower  part  of  the  board 
is  bevelled  behind,  thus  forming  a  good  scraping  edge. 
After  the  coarse  manure  is  pitched  up,  the  fork  is  in- 


Fig.  149.— a  “fork”  barn  scraper. 


serted  in  the  holes  of  the  board,  and  a  scraper  is  at  once 
ready  for  use,  figure  149.  To  store  it,  nail  a  cleat  on  the 
floor  two  inches  from  the  wall,  and  secure  the  scraper 
behind  this  cleat ;  place  one  foot  upon  the  board  and 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


181 


withdraw  the  fork.  Notches  may  be  cut  in  the  edge  of 
the  board  opposite  each  hole,  to  assist  in  placing  the  tines. 


A  METHOD  OF  CURING  HAY. 


A  method  of  curing  hay  which  has  been  used  for  sev¬ 
eral  years  with  entire  satisfaction  consists  in  taking 


[our  slender  stakes  six  feet  long,  a ,  a ,  a ,  a  (figure  150), 


Fig.  151. — THE  SMALL  STACK. 

fastened  together  at  the  upper  ends  with  a  loose  joint 
similar  to  that  of  an  ordinary  tripod.  One  end  of  the 


182 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


fifth  stake,  b,  rests  on  one  of  the  four  legs  about  a  foot 
from  the  ground,  the  other  end  resting  on  the  ground. 
The  hay  is  stacked  around  this  frame  nearly  to  the  top 
of  the  stakes,  after  which  the  stake,  b,  is  withdrawn, 
and  then  the  four  upright  stakes  are  removed.  This  is 
done  by  two  men  with  hay  forks,  who  raise  them  directly 
upwards.  As  soon  as  the  legs  are  lifted  from  the  ground 
the  pressure  of  the  hay  brings  them  together,  and  they 
can  be  removed  with  ease,  leaving  a  small  stack  of  hay, 
as  shown  in  figure  151,  with  an  air  passage  running  from 
the  bottom  upwards  through  the  centre  of  the  small  stack, 
as  indicated  by  the  dotted  lines. 


GRANARY  CONVENIENCES. 

The  better  plan  for  constructing  grain  bins  is  to  have 
the  upper  front  boards  movable,  that  the  contents  may 


be  more  readily  reached  as  they  lessen.  But  as  there  are 
tens  of  thousands  of  granaries  where  the  front  bin  boards 
are  firmly  nailed,  a  portable  step,  like  that  shown  in 
figure  152,  is  almost  a  necessity.  It  should  have  two 


FARM  COHYENIEXCES. 


183 


steps  of  nine  inches  each,  and  be  one  foot  wide,  and  two 
feet  long  on  top.  It  is  light  and  is  easily  moved  about 
the  granary. 

Every  owner  of  a  farm  needs  a  few  extra  sieves,  which, 
when  not  in  nse,  are  usually  thrown  in  some  corner,  or 


Fig.  153. — A  SIEVE  RACK. 


laid  on  a  box  or  barrel  to  be  knocked  about  and  often  in¬ 
jured  by  this  rough  handling,  besides  being  frequently 
in  the  way.  A  little  rack,  which  may  be  readily  made 


Fig.  154.— A  GRAIN  BAG  HOLDER. 


above  one  of  the  bins  in  the  granary,  as  shown  in  figure 
153,  is  convenient  to  put  sieves  out  of  the  way,  and  keep 
them  from  injury. 


184 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


Grain  bags  are  too  expensive  and  valuable  to  be  scat¬ 
tered  about  the  buildings.  A  simple  mode  of  securing 
them  is  shown,  which  is  at  once  cheap  and  safe.  In  the 
ceiling  over  the  bins,  staples  are  driven  about  four  feet 
apart,  to  which  are  attached  pieces  of  wire  two  feet  in 
length.  To  these  wires  is  fastened  a  pole  five  feet  in 
length,  over  which  the  bags  are  thrown  when  not  in  use, 
and  they  are  then  out  of  reach  of  mice  from  the  bins  and 
wall,  as  shown  in  figure  154. 


A  NON-SLIPPING  CHAIN  FOR  BOULDERS. 

One  great  trouble  in  hauling  boulders  or  large  stones 
with  team  and  chain  is  the  liability  of  the  chain  to  slip 
off,  especially  if  the  stone  is  nearly  round.  By  the  use 
of  the  contrivance  shown  in  figure  155,  nearly  all  of  this 
trouble  is  avoided.  It  consists  in  passing  two  log  chains 
around  the  stone  and  connecting  them  a  few  inches 
above  the  ground  by  &  short  chain  or  even  a  piece  of  rope 
or  wire.  Connect  the  chains  in  a  similar  manner  near 
the  top  of  the  stone.  The  ends  of  the  draught  chains 
are  attached  to  the  whipple-trees  in  any  way  desired.  In 


Fig.  155. — METHOD  OF  FASTENING  CHAINS  ON  A  BOULDER. 

hauling  down  an  incline,  or  where  the  ground  is  very 
rough,  it  will  be  best  to  wrap  each  chain  clear  around 
the  stone,  connecting  with  whipple-trees  by  a  single  chain, 
thereby  preventing  a  possibility  of  the  chains  becoming 
detached  or  misplaced  in  any  way. 


FARM  CONVENIERCES. 


185 


A  PITCHFORK  HOLDER. 

Having  occasion  to  go  into  the  barn  one  night,  we 
received  a  very  bad  wound  from  a  pitchfork  which  had 
fallen  from  its  standing  position.  This  led  us  to  con¬ 
struct  a  holder,  shown  in  the  engravings.  The  fork- 
holder  is  made  of  an  inch  board,  of  a  semicircular 
shape,  with  five  holes  large  enough  to  admit  a  fork 
handle,  bored  near  the  curved  side.  This  board  is  nailed 
to  a  standing  post  in  the  barn.  A  strap  or  curved  bolt 
&  placed  some  distance  below  to  hold  the  handles  in 


Fig.  156. — front  view.  Fig.  157.— side  view. 

place,  as  they  rest  on  a  bottom  board  fixed  for  the  pur¬ 
pose.  Figure  156  shows  the  front  view  of  the  holder  ^ 
figure  157  gives  the  side  view. 


186 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


A  CONVENIENT  HOG  LOADER. 

Figure  158  shows  the  “  loader  ”  attached  to  a  wagon, 
with  the  rack.  The  bed-piece  consists  of  two  pine  boards, 
six  inches  wide  by  nine  feet  long.  These  are  fastened 
together  by  three  cross-pieces  of  the  same  material,  of 
proper  length,  so  that  the  “bed”  will  just  fit  in  between 
the  sides  of  the  wagon-box.  A  floor  is  laid  on  these 
cross-pieces,  on  which  short  strips  of  lath  are  nailed,  to 
prevent  hogs  from  slipping.  At  one  end  the  sides  are 
notched  to  fit  on  the  bottom  of  the  wagon-box.  There  are 
two  staples  on  each  side  by  which  the  sides  are  fastened 
on.  The  “  rack  ”  is  made  like  an  ordinary  top-box,  with 
the  exception  that  each  side  is  composed  of  three  narrow 
boards  about  four  inches  apart,  and  nailed  to  three  cleats 
(the  two  end  cleats  to  be  on  the  inside,  and  the  middle 
one  on  the  outside  of  the  rack),  and  projecting  down 


the  side  of  the  wagon-box.  End-boards  are  made  and 
fastened  in  like  those  of  an  ordinary  wagon-box.  For 
unloading  the  hogs  nothing  but  the  bed-piece  need  be 
used,  which,  being  light,  may  be  easily  thrown  on  and 
taken  with  the  wagon. 


F ARM  CONVENIENCES. 


18? 


A  HOME-MADE  ROLLER. 

Take  a  log  six  or  eight  feet  long,  eighteen  or  twenty 
inches  in  diameter,  and  put  pins  in  each  end  for  journals, 
either  of  wood  one  and  a  half  inch,  or  iron  one  inch. 
Make  a  frame  of  two  by  four  scantlings,  or  flat  rails 
three  or  four  feet  long  to  suit  the  size  of  the  roller. 
Bore  holes  for  journals  a  little  back  of  centre,  and  also 
inch-holes  two  mcnes  from  the  back  end  of  scantlings. 
Fasten  these  ends  together  with  a  chain  or  rope  tight 
enough  to  keep  the  scantlings  square  with  the  ends  of 


Fig.  159. — A  HOME-MADE  ROLLER. 


the  log,  figure  159.  Fasten  the  front  ends  together 
with  a  stiff  pole  or  rail,  and  put  a  heavy  chain  across 
the  front,  with  one  end  around  each  front  corner.  Attach 
the  double-tree  at  the  middle  of  this  chain.  The  draft 
chain  and  the  pole  will  keep  the  front  ends  of  the  frame 
in  position,  and  the  chain  behind  will  prevent  the  rear 
ends  from  spreading.  When  the  roller  goes  faster  than 
the  team,  the  draft  chain  will  slacken,  and  the  front  of 
the  frame  will  drop  and  prevent  the  roller  from  striking 
the  team.  A  roller  is  such  a ‘valuable  implement  that 
there  should  be  one  in  use  on  every  farm.  Even  a  rough 
home-made  roller  is  better  than  none,  whether  it  is  used 
to  break  up  clods,  or  to  compact  the  soil  after  sowing. 


A  LAND  SCRAPER. 

In  districts  where  land  needs  draining,  scrapers  must 
be  used.  A  very  good  one  is  shown  in  figure  160.  It 


188 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


has  one  advantage  over  most  scrapers  :  tlie  team  can  sta* 
on  the  bank  while  the  scraper  is  thrown  into  the  ditch. 
When  the  ditch  is  a  large  one,  fourteen  feet  or  more 


Jb'ig.  lt>0. — A  LAND  SCRAPER. 


wide  at  the  top,  it  is  only  necessary  to  lengthen  the 
chain.  The  scraper  consists  of  two  boards,  twelve  inches 
wide  and  three  feet  long,  fastened  firmly  together  by  two 
strong  iron  plates,  figure  161,  p,  p9  bolts,  and  rod-iron 
nails.  The  scraper-edge  is  made  of  an  old  cross-cut  saw. 


fastened  on  with  rod-iron  nails.  Two  notches  are  cut 
at  p9  p ,  for  the  hooks  to  pass  through,  also  one  at  n , 
for  a  holder  for  lifting  the  scraper  when  necessary. 
To  make  the  scraper  work  perfectly,  the  rod  or  hook 
should  have  the  right  bend,  as  shown  at  a,  figure  162, 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


189 


The  hook  is  fastened  to  the  scraper  by  two  bolts,  b,  b , 


Fig.  162. — THE  HOOK-liOD. 


figure  162,  and  small  pins,  c,  when  the  land  scraper  is 
complete. 


A  HOME-MADE  BAG-HOLDER. 

This  bag-holder  is  one  of  the  most  useful  articles  a 
man  can  have  in  his  barn.  It  consists  of  a  post,  a ,  two 
by  four  inches,  and  five  feet  long,  with  six  one-half  inch 
holes  near  the  upper  end,  as  shown  in  figure  163.  The 
bar,  b9  passes  through  a  mortise  and  over  the  pin  nearest 


Fig.  163. — A  HANDY  BAG-HOLDER. 

the  bag,  and  under  the  other  pin.  This  bar  can  be 
moved  up  or  down,  to  suit  the  length  of  the  bag.  The 
post,  a ,  sets  in  a  bed-piece,  c,  two  by  three  inches  and 


190 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


two  feet  long.  A  board,  d,  eighteen  inches  square,  fast¬ 
ened  upon  the  bed-piece,  furnishes  the  necessary  rest  for 
the  bag.  The  mouth  of  the  bag  is  held  open  by  means 
of  hooks  placed  on  the  ends  of  the  cross-bar,  with  an¬ 
other  beneath  the  main  bar. 


A  SAFETY  EGG-CARRIER. 

In  figure  164,  a  represents  the  bottom-board  of  the 
spring-box,  near  the  edges  of  which  are  fastened  six  wire- 
coil  springs  or  bed-springs.  At  b  is  represented  a  hole 
made  in  the  board  to  receive  the  lower  end  of  the  spring, 
about  half  an  inch  of  which  is  bent  down  for  that  pur¬ 
pose.  Small  staples  are  driven  into  the  board  to  hold 


Fig.  164. — BOTTOM-BOARD  OF  SPRING-BOX. 


the  spring'?  in  place.  Scraps  of  leather  or  tin  might  be 
tacked  or  screwed  down,  instead  of  using  staples ;  d,  d, 
are  leather  straps,  an  inch  or  more  wide,  and  long 
enough  to  reach  from  the  bottom-board,  where  each  one 
is  fastened  by  two  screws,  to  the  egg-box,  after  being 
placed  on  the  springs.  Figure  165  represents  the  side 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


191 


and  end  boards,  which,  when  placed  over  the  bottom- 
board  holding  the  springs,  forms  the  spring-box  ;  screws 
fasten  the  side  and  end- boards  to  the  bottom-board  of 
the  spring-box,  pieces  of  tin  being  nailed  around  the 
corners  of  the  box,  to  give  it  proper  strength,  the  nails 
being  clinched  on  the  inside. 

After  securing  the  springs  and  straps  to  the  bottom^ 
board,  the  egg-box  should  be  placed  on  the  springs, 
and  the  points  of  the  springs  placed  in  holes  previously 
made  in  the  bottom  of  the  egg-box  to  receive  them. 
Now  put  a  sufficient  weight  in  the  egg-box  to  settle  it 
down  firmly  on  the  springs,  and  fasten  the  upper  ends 
of  the  straps  to  the  box,  being  careful  to  have  the  box 


Fig.  165. — FRAME  FOR  HOLDING  EGG-BOX. 


set  level.  Having  done  this,  take  the  part,  figure  165, 

and  put  it  down  over  the  egg-box  to  its  place,  and  make 
it  fast  to  the  bottom-board  of  the  spr'ng-box  with  heavy 
screws.  The  object  of  the  bottom,  figure  165,  is  to  keep 
the  springs  from  being  strained  to  one  side  in  going  over 
rough  ground.  It  should  be  made  one-quarter  inch  or 
so  larger  than  the  egg-box,  that  the  latter  may  have  the 
benefit  of  the  springs.  Our  former  custom  was  to  put 
a  feeding  of  hay  in  the  wagon-box,  about  midway  from 
one  end  to  the  other,  place  the  egg-box  on  the  hay,  and 
drive  carefully  over  the  rough  places.  But  more  or  less 


19» 


FARM  COKVERIEKCES. 


eggs  would  be  broken,  the  best  we  could  do,  whethei 
they  were  packed  in  bran  or  put  in  paper  “  boxes  ”  01 


Fl<r.  166. — EGG-BOX  COMPLETE. 

n 

cases.  After  setting  the  box  on  springs  as  described, 
place  it  on  the  bottom  boards  of  the  wagon-box,  with 
one  end  directly  over  the  forward  axle  of  the  wagon. 


A  BUSH-ROLLER. 

Figure  167  shows  a  device  which  has  been  made  for 
clearing  sage-bush  land.  It  consists  of  a  roller,  eight 
feet  long' and  two  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter,  coupled 
by  a  short  tongue — six  feet  is  long  enough — to  the  for¬ 
ward  wheels  of  a  wagon.  A  standard  at  each  end  of  the 
roller-frame  supports  a  cross-piece  just  clear  of  the 
roller.  Upon  this  cross-piece,  about  four  feet  apart, 
and  extending  to  the  bolster  of  the  wagon,  are  bolted 
two  pieces  of  cne  and  a  quarter  by  six-inch  spruce 
boards.  A  board  is  placed  across  the  centre  for  a  seat, 
thus  making  a  complete  and  easy-inclining  “  buck- 
board.”  With  a  span  of  good  horses  and  this  machine, 
figure  167,  one  can  roll  from  eight  to  ten  acres  of  sage* 


FARM  CONVENIENCES, 


193 


bush  in  a  day  ;  and  it  is  so  easily  killed,  that  in  two  or 


Fig.  167. — A  HOME-MADE  BUSH-ROLLER. 


three  weeks  after  such  treatment,  it  will  burn  off  like  a 
prairie  on  fire. 


BROOD-SOW  PENS. 


Figures  168  and  169  represent  a  convenient  arrange¬ 
ment  for  brood  sows.  The  pens  arc  not  equal  to  the 


costly  piggeries  of  wealthy  breeders,  but  they  answer  a 
good  purpose  in  a  new  country,  where  farmers  are 
obliged  to  get  along  cheaply.  Many  who  have  built  ex- 

9 


194 


FAKM  CONVENIENCES. 


pensive  houses  say  these  pens  answer  a  better  purpose. 
First,  there  is  a  tightly-boarded  pen  (except  in  front;, 
sixteen  feet  bv  twelve  feet.  This  is  divided  into  four 

nests,  twelve  by  four  feet.  A 
shed  roof  extends  eight  feet  from 
the  rear.  The  tops  of  the  nests 
are  covered  with  boards,  and  the 
space  between  this  room  and  the 
roof  is  filled  with  straw,  making 
it  wind-tight,  except  in  front. 
When  young  pigs  are  expected 
during  the  cold  weather  of  winter, 


Fig.  169. — DOOR  TO  PEN. 


hang  a  gunny  sack  in  front  of  the  nest.  The  doors, 
figure  169,  are  the  most  convenient.  The  board  door  is 
slipped  in  from  the  top,  between  pairs  of  cross-boards  in 
the  pig-pen. 


A  RABBIT  TRAP. 

Rabbits  are  a  great  nuisance  both  in  the  garden  and 
orchard,  and  a  trap  of  the  following  kind  put  in  a  black- 


Fig.  170. — A  GOOD  RABBIT  TRAP. 


berry  patch,  or  some  place  where  they  like  to  hide,  will 
thin  them  out  wonderfully.  A  common  salt  barrel,  with 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


195 


a  notcli  sawed  out  at  the  top,  is  set  in  the  ground  level 
with  the  top.  There  is  an  entrance  box,  four  feet  long, 
with  side  pieces  seven  inches  wide — top  and  bottom  four 
and  a  half  or  five  inches.  The  bottom  board  is  cut  in 
two  at  b>  and  is  somewhat  narrower  than  in  front,  that  it 
may  tilt  easily  on  a  pivot  at  c.  A  small  washer  should 
be  placed  on  each  side  of  the  trap  at  c,  that  it  may  not 
bind  in  tilting.  The  distance  from  b  to  c  should  be 
somewhat  longer  than  from  c  to  d ,  that  the  board  will 
fall  back  in  place  after  being  tipped.  No  bait  is  re¬ 
quired,  because  a  rabbit  (hare)  is  always  looking  for  a 
place  of  security.  The  bottom  of  the  box  should  be  even 
with  the  top  of  the  ground  at  the  entrance  to  the  top  of 
the  barrel.  The  barrel  should  be  covered  closely  with  a 
board,  as  shown  in  figure  170.  Remove  the  rabbits  from 
the  trap  as  fast  as  they  are  caught. 


WOODEN  STABLE  FLOOR. 

Elm  makes  an  excellent  and  durable  stable  floor  ;  the 
fibre  of  the  wood  is  tough  and  yielding.  The  planks 
should  be  secured  in  position  by  wooden  pins,  as  they 
are  constantly  liable  to  warp.  Any  of  the  soft  oaks 
make  a  good  floor ;  the  hard,  tough  varieties  are  un¬ 
yielding,  and,  until  they  have  been  in  use  several  months, 
horses  are  liable  to  slip  and  injure  themselves  in  getting 
up.  Both  pine  and  hemlock  make  good  floors,  being 
soft  and  yielding,  but  they  are  not  as  durable  as  many 
other  woods.  Planks  for  a  stable  floor  should  be  two  and 
a  half  inches  in  thickness,  and  not  laid  until  quite  thor¬ 
oughly  seasoned,  and  then  always  put  down  lengthwise 
of  the  stall,  and  upon  another  floor  laid  crosswise,  as 
shown  at  b,  b ,  b ,  figure  171.  The  planks  of  this  floor, 
or  cross  floor,  should  be  laid  one  inch  apart,  that  they 


196 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


may  the  more  readily  dry  oft,  and  offer  a  better  ventila¬ 
tion  to  the  floor  above.  Unless  the  upper  floor  is  of  ma¬ 
terial  liable  to  warp,  it  should  not  be  nailed  or  pinned, 
but  made  as  close-fitting  as  possible.  It  is  not  profitable 
or  necessary  to  have  the  stall  planks  more  than  eleven 
and  a  half  feet  in  length,  or  extend  farther  back  than 
the  stall  partition,  as  shown  at  e,  e.  This  plan  leaves  a 


Fig.  171.—  MANNER  OF  LAYING  A  STABLE  FLOOR. 


wide  smooth  walk  behind  the  stalls  at  h ,  so  necessary 
for  ease  and  rapidity  in  cleaning  the  manure  from  the 
stable. 

Some  horse-keepers  prefer  a  slatted  floor,  similar  to 
that  shown  in  figure  172.  Material  of  the  proper  length, 
four  inches  wide  and  two  inches  thick,  is  set  upon  edge, 
as  at  h.  with  a  strip  three-quarters  of  an  inch  thick  and 
one  and  a  half  inch  wide  placed  between  the  slats,  the 
whole  made  to  fit  the  stall  as  closely  as  possible.  By  this 
method  it  is  quite  impossible  for  horses  to  become  so 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


197 


dirty  as  when  lying  upon  a  common  plank  floor,  as  the 
space  between  the  slats  form  a  most  admirable  channel 


Fig.  172.— A  SLATTED  STABLE  FLOOR. 

for  carrying  off  the  urine.  A  few  days’  constant  use 
somewhat  clogs  the  passages,  but  they  are  readily  opened 
by  using  a  home-made  cleaner,  like  that  shown  in  figure 
173.  Stable  floors  should  have  at  least  one  inch  descent 


Fig.  173. — A  CLEANER  FOR  A  SLATTED  FLOOR. 


in  ten  feet,  and  many  make  the  descent  three  and  even 
four  inches  in  the  same  distance,  but  this  is  unnecessary. 
All  stabled  animals  should  stand  upon  floors  as  nearly 
level  as  is  consistent  with  cleanliness. 


A  RAIL  HOLDER  OR  “GRIP.” 

Drive  two  posts,  b,  b,  figure  1 74,  three  feet  long,  firmly 
in  the  ground,  four  feet  apart,  between  two  parallel  logs, 
a,  a .  A  third  post  or  “jaw,”  c,  somewhat  shorter,  is 


193 


3?ARM  CONVENIENCES. 


mortised  in  a  block  placed  between  tbe  logs,  and  out  of 
line  with,  or  to  one  side  of  the  posts,  b,  b ,  so  as  to  hold 
a  rail,  d,  between  the  three.  A  lever,  e,  eight  feet  long, 
and  heavy  at  the  outer  end,  is  mortised  into  another 
block,  which  is  placed  on  the  side  of  d,  b,  both  blocks 
bearing  against  the  posts.  The  lever  and  jaw  are  con¬ 


nected  by  a  chain  passing  around  the  lever,  over  its  block 
and  through  a  hole  in  the  jaw.  An  iron  pin  through  a 
link  couples  them  just  enough  apart  to  hold  a  rail  firmly 
when  the  lever  is  on  the  ground.  To  remove  the  rail, 
raise  the  lever  and  rest  it  upon  the  small  post,  /,  at  the 
farther  end,  which  slackens  the  chain. 


A  CHEAP  AND  DURABLE  GRINDSTONE-BOX  AND 

HANGERS. 

A  good  grindstone,  well  hung,  is  one  of  the  most  val¬ 
uable  aids  about  the  farm  or  workshop.  Those  who 
cannot  afford  to  buy  a  very  neat  and  handy  grindstone 
frame  of  the  hardware  dealers,  will  find  a  frame  and 
hangers  shown  in  figure  175,  that  for  convenience,  cheap- 


FAUM  CONVEHIEHCES. 


199 


ness,  and  durability  is  hard  to  excel.  The  frame  con¬ 
sists  of  a  well-seasoned  “  trough  ”  of  pine  or  other  wood, 
fourteen  inches  square  (or  even  one  foot  square),  and 
from  two  and  a  half  to  three  and  a  half  feet  in  length, 
to  which  legs  are  nailed  at  b,  b,  four  inches  wide,  an 
inch  and  a  half  thick,  and  bevelled  at  the  top.  Sup¬ 
ports  or  hangers,  h,  ii ,  are  nailed  firmly  to  the  side,  as 
indicated  ;  they  should  be  hard  wood,  and  of  a  size  to 
correspond  with  dimensions  and  weight  of  stone.  The 
shaft  may  be  of  iron  or  wood ;  fit  a  piece  of  sheet  lead, 
or  piece  of  lead  pipe,  properly  flattened  out,  in  the  top 
of  each  hanger  ;  this  will  cause  the  shaft  to  turn  easily, 
and  prevent  all  squeaking  for  want  of  oil.  The  wooden 
plug  at  r,  is  for  drawing  ofl  the  water  after  each  using 
of  the  stone,  and  should  in  no  case  be  neglected.  If  one 
side  of  the  stone  is  left  standing  in  water,  it  softens,  and 


Fig.  175. — A  BOX  FOR  A  GRINDSTONE. 


the  surface  will  soon  wear  quite  uneven.  After  the  box 
is  completed,  give  it  one  heavy  coat  of  boiled  oil ;  then 
in  a  few  days  apply  a  coat  of  lead  and  oil,  and  with  even 
common  care,  it  will  last  a  lifetime.  When  the  stone 
becomes  worn,  it  is  kept  down  to  the  water  by  simply 
deepening  the  groove  in  the  top  of  the  hangers.  Always 


200 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


buy  a  long  shaft  for  a  grindstone,  for  in  this  age  of  reap¬ 
ers  and  mowers,  the  cutting  apparatus  of  which  must  be 
ground,  a  long  shaft  for  a  grindstone  is  almost  a  neces¬ 
sity,  or  truly  a  great  convenience.  If  the  grindstone  is 
to  stand  out-doors,  always  cover  it  with  a  closely  fitting 
wooden  box  when  it  is  not  in  use. 


A  “LADDER”  FOR  LOADING  CORN. 

Take  a  plank  two  inches  thick,  ten  inches  wide,  and 
eight  feet  long.  Nail  upon  one  side  of  it  cleats,  of  one~ 
inch  by  two-inch  stuff,  at  easy  stepping  distances  apart. 
At  the  upper  end  nail  upon  the  underside  of  the  plank 
a  cleat  projecting  four  inches  upon  either  side,  to  which 


attach  small  ropes  or  chains,  and  suspend  the  ladder 
from  the  hind  end  of  the  rack,  so  that  one  end  of  the 
plank  will  rest  upon  the  ground.  This  makes  a  very 
convenient  step-ladder,  up  which  a  man  can  carry  a  large 
armful  of  fodder,  and  thus  load  his  wagon  to  its  full  ca¬ 
pacity  with  greater  ease  than  two  men  could  load  it  from 
the  ground.  I  find  it  of  great  convenience  to  me  when 
hauling  corn  fodder  alone.  The  “  Ladder”  is  shown  in 
figure  176. 


FARM  CONVENIENCES 


2Q1 


PROTECTING  OUTLET  OF  DRAINS. 

One  of  the  greatest  annoyances  in  underdraining  is 
the  trouble  arising  from  the  outlet  becoming  choked  or 
filled  up  by  the  trampling  of  animals,  the  action  of 
frost,  or  even  of  water  in  times  of  freshets.  This  trouble 


is  quite  successfully  overcome  by  the  arrangement  as  shown 
in  figure  177;  it  consists  of  a  plank,  ten  or  twelve  inches 
in  width,  and  five  or  six  feet  in  length,  with  a  notch  cut 
in  one  side,  near  the  centre.  This  plank  is  set  upon 


Fig.  178. — LOGS  AT  END  OF  DRAIN. 


edge  at  the  outlet  of  the  drain,  with  the  notch  directly 
over  the  end  of  the  tile,  and  is  held  in  position  by  several 
stakes  on  the  outside,  with  earth  or  stone  thrown  against 
the  opposite  side.  This  plan  is  best  for  all  light  soils, 

9* 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


202 

while  for  heavy  clay  land  the  one  shown  in  figure  178  is 
just  as  good,  and  in  most  cases  will  prove  more  durable. 
It  consists  of  two  logs,  eight  or  ten  inches  in  diameter, 
and  from  three  to  ten  feet  in  length,  placed  parallel 
with  the  drain,  and  about  six  inches  apart;  the  whole  is 
covered  with  plank  twenty  inches  long,  laid  crosswise. 
Flat  stones  will  answer  and  are  more  lasting  than  planks. 
The  whole  is  covered  with  earth,  at  least  eighteen  inches 
in  depth  ;  two  feet  or  more  would  be  better,  especially  if 
the  soil  is  to  be  plowed  near  the  outlet. 


A  LOG  BOAT. 

A  convenient  boat  for  dragging  logs  is  shown  in  figure 
179.  The  runners,  d,  d ,  are  two  by  six  inches  and  four 
and  a  half  feet  long ;  the  plank  is  two  by  nine  inches, 
and  three  and  a  half  feet  long.  A  mortise  is  made  at  Ji 
for  the  chain  to  pass  through.  The  cross-piece,  c,  is  four 
by  seven  inches,  and  three  and  a  half  feet  long,  and 
worked  down  to  four  and  a  half  inches  in  the  middle. 
Notches  are  cut  into  the  cross-piece  four  inches  wide  and 
two  inches  deep,  to  receive  the  scantlings,  e,  e,  two  by 


Fig.  179.— A  STOUT  LOG  BOAT. 


four  inches,  and  three  feet  long,  which  are  fastened  down 
by  strong  bolts,  as  shown  at  the  dotted  lines,  f.  /'.  The 
two  bolts  in  front,  6,  b,  go  through  the  scantling,  plank 
and  runner,  while  the  bolts,  g,  g,  pass  only  through  the 
plank  and  runner. 

It  will  be  more  convenient  to  load  the  logs  by  horses. 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


203 


as  shown  in  the  illustration,  figure  180.  The  boat  is 
raised  with  its  upper  side  against  the  log.  The  chain  is 
fastened  to  the  cross-piece  at  a ,  with  the  large  hook,  and 
the  other  end  is  put  around  the  log,  under  the  runner 
and  cross-piece  at  l,  and  pulled  through  between  the 
runner  and  scantling  at  c,  when  the  end  of  the  chain,  d, 
is  fastened  to  the  whippletree.  As  the  team  is  started,  the 


Fig.  180. — LOADING  THE  LOGS. 


boat  tips  over,  with  the  log  on  top.  Loosen  the  chain 
from  the  two-horse  evener,  and  pull  it  back  through  the 
runner  and  scantling  at  c ,  and  through  the  hole. 


CHEAP  AND  DURABLE  WAGON  SEATS. 

It  is  tiresome  to  be  jolted  over  rough  roads,  in  a  wagon 
without  springs,  with  a  simple  board  for  a  seat ;  but  no 
farmer  or  cartman  need  adhere  to  this  practice,  when 
comfortable  and  portable  seats  can  be  so  easily  and 
cheaply  made. 

For  a  one-man  seat,  that  shown  in  figure  181  is  the 
simplest  and  most  durable,  and  should  be  one  foot  longer 


Fig.  181. — SPRING  SEAT  FOR  ONE  PERSON. 

than  the  wagon-box  is  wide  ;  the  connecting  blocks 
should  be  four  inches  high,  and  placed  near  the  ends. 


204 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


The  one  shown  in  figure  182  is  arranged  for  two  persons, 
the  connecting  block  being  placed  in  the  centre,  the 
ends  being  kept  a  uniform  distance  apart  by  bolts,  with 
the  nut  upon  the  lower  side,  out  of  the  way.  The  hole 


Fig.  182. — A  DOUBLE  SPRING  SEAT. 


for  the  bolt  through  the  lower  board  should  be  just  large 
enough  to  allow  the  bolt  to  play  freely. 

In  figure  183  is  showm  a  seat  a  little  more  expensive, 
yet  far  more  elastic.  Both  boards  are  eight  inches  longer 
than  the  width  of  the  box  upon  which  they  rest.  At 
each  end  of  the  top-board  is  mortised  or  nailed  in  a  strip 
of  hard  wood,  one  inch  thick,  two  inches  wide,  and 
about  seven  inches  in  length,  which  is  made  to  pass 
freely  up  and  down  in  a  corresponding  notch  sawed  in 


Fig.  183. — A  COILED  SPRING  SEAT. 


the  end  of  the  lower  board.  At  or  near  each  comer  of 
the  seat  is  placed  a  coiling  spring.  A  pin,  passed 
through  the  wooden  strip  near  the  bottom,  keeps  the 
seat-boards  from  separating. 


A  BAG-HOLDER  ON  PLATFORM  SCALES. 

Figure  184  shows  a  contrivance  which  does  away  with 
the  need  of  a  second  person  in  filling  grain  bags, 
and  is  both  cheap  and  simple.  It  is  attached  to  a 
platform  scales  for  convenience  in  weighing,  and  consists 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


205 


of  an  iron  hoop,  nearly  as  large  around  as  a  bag.  The 
hoop  has  four  small  hooks  on  it,  at  equal  distances  apart, 
to  which  the  bag  is  fastened.  Attached  to  the  hoop  is 
a  piece  of  iron  about  six  inches  long,  exclusive  of  the 
shank,  which  slips  into  a  socket  fastened  to  the  front  of 
the  upright  enclosing  the  rods,  that  run  from  the  bot¬ 
tom  of  the  scale  to  the  weighing  beam.  This  iron  and 
hoop  are  fastened  securely  together.  The  shank  should 
fit  loosely  in  the  socket,  to  let  the  hoop  tilt  down,  so 
that  the  bag  can  be  readily  unhooked.  There  is  an  eye- 
bolt  in  the  hoop  where  the  iron  rod  joins  it,  and  a  rod 


Fig.  184. — A  BAG-HOLDER  ON  PLATFORM  SCALES. 


with  a  hook  on  the  upper  end  is  fastened  into  it.  This 
rod  reaches  to  a  staple  fastened  above  the  socket  on  the 
upright  of  the  scales,  as  shown  in  figure  184.  When  the 
hook  on  the  end  of  this  rod  is  slipped  into  the  staple,  it 
lifts  the  hoop  to  a  level  position,  and  is  of  sufficient 
strength  to  hold  a  bag  of  grain.  The  hoop  should  be 
high  enough  to  allow  a  bag  to  clear  the  platform  of  the 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


X06 

ecales.  When  filled,  a  sharp  blow  of  the  hand  removes 
the  hook  of  the  sustaining  rod,  and  lets  the  hoop  tilt 
downward,  when  the  bag  rests  on  the  platform.  The 
hoop  can  be  swung  to  one  side,  and  entirely  out  of  the 
way.  We  have  a  sort  of  hopper  made  out  of  an  old  dish 
pan  with  the  bottom  cut  out.  It  is  very  convenient  to 
keep  grain  from  spilling  while  filling  the  bags. 


MAKING  BOARD  DRAINS. 

On  very  many  farms,  wooden  drains  are  used  in  place 
of  tiles,  but  mostly  in  new  districts  where  timber  is  cheap, 
and  tiles  cannot  be  purchased  without  much  expense. 
They  will  answer  the  purpose  well,  without  much  ex¬ 
pense.  Wooden  drains,  if  laid  deep  enough,  so  that  the 


Fig.  185. — FllAME  FOR  HOLDING  BOARDS. 


frost  will  not  affect  them,  will  last  many  years.  We  know 
of  an  old  drain  that  has  been  built  twelve  years,  where 
the  timber  is  still  sound  in  some  spots.  To  make  wooden 
drains,  two  men  are  generally  required — one  to  hold  the 
boards,  and  another  to  nail  them.  This  mode  of  con¬ 
structing  board  drains  can  be  improved  upon  by  making 
a  “  standard,”  which  consists  of  an  upright  board  three 
feet  high,  having  notches  cut  into  it  six  inches  apart, 
one  inch  wide,  and  several  inches  deep,  to  hold  the 
boards  firm.  The  boards  b,  b ,  figure  185,  are  laid  into 
the  notches,  n,  n}  when  the  top  board  can  be  quickly 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


m 


and  easily  nailed  on.  Another  method,  shown  in  figure 
186,  consists  of  two  posts,  driven  into  the  ground  about 
three  feet  from  a  fence,  with  a  board  nailed  across  from 


Fig.  186. — FRAME  BY  A  FENCE. 


each  post  to  the  fence.  Notches  are  then  cut  into  each 
cross-board  several  inches  deep,  when  it  will  be  ready 
for  use. 


PUT  THINGS  IN  THEIR  PLACES. 

We  have  in  mind  an  extensive  and  well-tilled  farm, 
where  a  large  space  in  the  end  of  a  wagon-shed  is  called 
a  tool-room.  The  tools  are  deposited  in  the  barn,  wood¬ 
shed,  crib,  in  the  field,  hung  in  trees,  anywhere  but  in 
the  right  place.  The  tool-room  floor  is  covered  with 
heaps  of  rusty  iron,  old  leather,  broken  harness,  frag¬ 
ments  of  tools,  and  other  accumulations  of  forty  years  of 
farm  life.  The  old  iron  should  be  sorted  over,  and  any 
bolts,  nuts,  rings,  hooks,  etc.,  that  are  good,  maybe  put 
in  a  box  by  themselves,  and  the  rest  should  go  to  the  junk 
dealer.  There  may  be  a  few  straps  and  buckles  of  the 
old  harness  worth  saving.  If  so,  oil  the  leather  and  lay 
it  aside  ;  throw  the  rest  out  of  sight.  Put  a  light  scaf¬ 
fold  near  the  roof-plates,  and  pile  many  small  articles 
upon  it ;  they  will  be  out  of  the  way  and  within  easy 
reach.  Make  a  drawer  in  a  bench  for  holding  small 
tools,  and  a  row  of  pigeon-holes  for  nails,  screws,  etc. 
Across  one  end  of  the  room,  in  front  of  the  plate,  fasten 


208 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


a  long  narrow  board  by  pegs,  so  that  a  six-inch  space  will 
be  between  the  plates  and  board.  Let  the  pegs  be  a  foot 
apart  and  stand  out  beyond  the  board  some  five  or  six 
inches,  upon  which  to  hang  long-handled  tools.  About 
four  feet  from  the  floor  make  a  similar  rack  for  shovels. 


Fig.  187. — SECTION  OF  A  TOOL  KOOIVL 


picks,  chains,  whippletrees,  etc.  Bring  all  the  tools  to 
this  room,  except  those  needed  every  day  in  the  barn. 
There  should  be  a  paint-pot  in  the  tool -house,  to  use  on 
a  rainy  day  for  painting  the  tools.  Figure  187  shows  a 
section  of  a  well-arranged  tool-room. 

Lay  down  this  law  to  your  man-servant  and  maid¬ 
servant,  to  your  son  and  daughter,  to  your  borrowing 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


209 


neighbor  and  yonr  good  wife,  to  all  that  in  your  house 
abide,  and  to  yourself  :  “  That  whoever  uses  a  tool  shall, 
when  his  or  her  work  is  done,  return  the  tool  to  the 
tool-houseand  place  it  where  it  was  found.” 


WATER-SPOUT  AND  STOCK-TROUGH. 

The  water-trough  for  the  stock  should  not  be  imme¬ 
diately  under  the  pump  spout,  but  some  ten  or  twelve 
feet  distant,  a  spout  being  employed  to  convey  the  water. 
This  spout  (figure  188)  is  made  of  two  good  pieces  of  clean 
white  pine,  inch  stuff.  One  piece  is  four  inches  and  the 
other  is  three  inches  wide,  nicely  planed  and  jointed.  If 
securely  nailed,  it  will  not  leak  for  a  long  time,  but  when 
it  does,  let  it  dry,  and  then  run  hot  pitch  down  the  joint. 
The  trough  should  be  made  of  two-inch  oak,  or  pine  of 
the  same  thickness  may  do,  if  kept  well  painted,  inside 


Fig.  188. — WATER-TROUGH. 


and  out.  Instead  of  nailing  on  the  sides  to  the  ends, 
have  the  ends  fitted  into  grooves,  and  use  rods,  with 
burrs  on  them  to  bring  the  sides  up  tightly  to  their 
places.  When  the  trough  leaks,  tighten  up  the  burrs  a 
little  with  a  wrench,  and  the  trouble  generally  ceases  for 
the  time.  Even  the  best  trough  is  by  no  means  very 
lasting,  and  its  longevity  is  increased  by  keeping  it  thor¬ 
oughly  painted,  inside  and  out,  with  good  paint.  Where 


210 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


there  are  horses  that  destroy  the  edges  of  the  trough 
with  their  teeth,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  rim  it  all  around 
with  thin  iron.  The  spout,  where  it  goes  under  the 
pump,  can  have  a  strap  slipped  over  the  nozzle  of  the 
pump. 


A  DESIRABLE  MILKING  SHED. 

(See  Frontispiece.) 

We  recently  observed  a  peculiarly  constructed  building 
used  as  a  milking  shed  during  the  warmer  portions  of 
the  year.  It  is  a  common  frame  structure,  thirty-five 
feet  in  length  and  eighteen  feet  wide,  with  posts  eight 
feet  high.  The  sides  and  ends  are  hoarded  up  and 
down  with  eight-inch  stuff,  leaving  a  space  three  inches 
wide  between  the  hoards  for  ventilation,  light,  etc.  A 
row  of  common  stanchions  are  placed  along  each  side. 
A  door  is  made  at  one  end,  through  which  the  cows 
enter.  If  grain  is  fed,  it  is  placed  in  position  before  the 
cows  are  admitted.  A  small  quantity  of  salt  is  kept  on 
the  floor,  immediately  in  front  of  the  stanchions,  thus 
allowing  the  cows  to  obtain  a  supply  twice  each  day. 
This  manner  of  salting  is  an  inducement  for  the  cows  to 
enter  the  building  and  take  their  accustomed  places  ;  it 
also  tends  to  keep  them  quiet  while  milking.  This 
arrangement,  for  cleanliness,  ventilation,  etc.,  is  far 
superior  to  the  common  basement  stables,  and  is  a  great 
improvement  over  the  usual  plan  of  milking  in  the  open 
yard,  where  broken  stools,  spilled  milk,  and  irritable 
tempers  are  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception.  No 
matter  how  stormy  it  may  be  without,  this  shed  always 
secures  a  dry  place,  with  comparative  quiet.  A  greater 
supply  of  milk  is  obtained  with  such  a  shed.  The  floor 
of  the  stable  portion  may  be  of  earth,  covered  with 
coarse  gravel. 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


311 


WEAR  PLATE  FOR  HARNESS  TUGS  AND  COLLARS. 

In  the  manufacture  of  improved  harness  trimmings, 
devices  are  employed  to  prevent,  as  much  as  possible, 
the  wear  and  breaking  of  the  tugs  where  the  buckle 
tongue  enters  them.  This  is  quite  an  important  point 
with  those  purchasing  new  harness.  The  simple  con¬ 
trivance,  such  as  is  shown  in  figure  189,  consists  of  a 


Fig.  189.— WEAR  PLATE  FOR  TUG. 

thin  iron  plate  a  little  narrower  than  the  tug,  and  about 
two  inches  in  length,  with  a  hole  for  the  reception  of 
the  buckle-tongue  when  placed  between  the  tug  and  the 
buckle.  The  strain  from  the  buckle  upon  the  tug  is 
equally  distributed  over  the  entire  surface  against  which 
the  plate  rests.  A  harness  thus  equipped  will  last  many 
years  longer  than  those  not  so  provided.  There  is 
another  part  of  the  harness  that 
is  the  cause  of  much  trouble — 
mainly,  the  part  where  the  tug 
comes  in  contact  with  the  col¬ 
lar.  The  tug  and  its  fasten¬ 
ings  to  the  hame  soon  wear 
through  the  collar,  and  com¬ 
press  the  latter  so  much  that 
during  heavy  pulling  the  horse’s 
shoulder  is  often  pinched, 
chafed,  and  lacerated.  This  Pi g.  190.— wear  plate 

.  ..  ,  FOR  HAMES. 

is  worse  than  carelessness  on 

the  part  of  the  teamster,  as  the  collar  should  be  kept 
plump  at  this  point,  by  re-filling  when  needed  ;  yet,  very 
much  of  this  trouble  may  be  avoided  by  tacking  to  the 


212 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


underside  of  the  hame  a  piece  of  leather,  as  shown  in 
dgure  190.  It  will  be  found  not  only  to  save  the  collar, 
but  prevent  chafing  of  the  shoulder. 


POTABLE  WATER  FENCE. 

The  water  fence,  shown  in  figure  191,  is  one  of  the 
best  we  have  ever  used,  and  those  who  live  near  or  on 
tide-water  will  find  such  an  one  very  useful.  This  fence 
is  made  usually  of  pine  ;  the  larger  pieces,  those  which 
lie  on  the  ground  and  parallel  with  the  “run  ”  of  the 
fence,  are  three  by  four-inch  pieces,  hemlock  or  pine, 
and  connected  by  three  cross-bars,  of  three  by  four-inch 
pieces,  mortised  in,  three  feet  apart.  Into  the  middle 


Fig.  191. — SECTION  OF  A  WATER  FENCE. 

of  these  three  cross-pieces  (the  upright  or  posts),  are 
securely  mortised,  while  two  common  boards  are  nailed 
underneath  the  long  pieces  to  afford  a  better  rest  for  the 
structure  when  floating  on  the  water,  or  resting  on  the 
ground.  Stout  wires  are  stretched  along  the  posts, 
which  are  four  feet  high. 


DITCH  CLEANER  AND  DEEPENER. 

Open  ditches  require  constant  attention  to  prevent 
their  being  choked  with  weeds  and  accumulations  of  silt. 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


213 


Keeping  them  cleaned  out  with  a  hoe  is  a  difficult  and 
laborious  task,  while  drawing  a  log  down  them  is  un¬ 
satisfactory  and  ineffective.  To  run  a  plow  along  the 
bottom  is  not  only  a  disagreeable  task,  but  frequently 
does  more  harm  than  good.  In  view  of  these  facts  we 
devised  the  simple  and  effective  implement  shown  in 
figure  192. 

The  centre-piece  is  six  by  eight-inch  oak,  eight  feet 
long,  and  shaped  as  shown  in  the  cut.  The  wings,  or 


Fig.  192. — A  CLEANER  FOR  DITCHES. 


scrapers,  are  made  of  oak,  or  other  tough  wood  ;  boards 
ten  inches  wide.  They  ^re  attached  to  the  centre-piece 
at  the  forward  end  by  an  inch  bolt  that  passes  through 
all  three  pieces.  They  are  connected  at  the  rear  end  by 
a  strong  cross-bar  of  hard- wood.  Twelve  or  fifteen  inches 
back  of  this  bar  the  end  of  the  lever  is  attached  to  the 
centre-piece  by  an  eye  and  staple.  A  short  chain  is 
fastened  underneath  the  centre  of  the  cross-bar,  with  an 
eye-bolt  passing  through  it.  The  chain  is  attached  to 
the  lever  with  a  hook,  and  may  be  lengthened  or  short¬ 
ened  as  required. 

The  implement  is  drawn  by  two  horses,  one  on  each 
side  of  the  ditch.  A  man  stands  on  the  centre-piece,  and 
handles  the  lever.  If  the  ditch  is  narrow  and  deep,  the 
rear  ends  of  the  wings  or  scrapers  will  naturally  be  forced 
upward  to  a  considerable  hight,  and  the  lever  chain 
should  be  lengthened  accordingly.  In  wide,  shallow 


214 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


ditches,  the  cross-bar  will  nearly  rest  on  the  centre-piece, 
and  the  chain  must  be  short.  The  scrapers  are  forced 
down  hard  by  bearing  on  the  lever.  If  the  bottom  of 
the  ditch  is  hard,  two  men  may  ride  on  the  implement. 
Long  weeds  catching  on  the  forward  end  must  be  re¬ 
moved  with  a  fork.  A  strap  of  iron  is  fastened  across 
the  forward  ends  of  the  scrapers  where  the  bolt  passes 
through  to  prevent  them  from  splitting.  The  horses 
may  be  kept  the  proper  distance  apart  by  means  of  a 
light  pole  fastened  to  the  halter  rings. 


HOW  TO  BUILD  A  DAM. 

A  form  of  crib,  shown  in  figure  193,  is  built  of  logs, 
about  eight  feet  square  for  ordinary  streams.  The  bot¬ 
tom  should  have  cross-pieces  pinned  on  the  lowest  logs. 
The  stones  that  fill  the  crib  rest  on  these  cross-pieces. 


Fig.  193. — A  CHIB  FOR  A  DAM. 


and  hold  everything  secure.  The  crib  can  be  partly  built 
on  shore,  then  launched,  and  finished  in  its  place  in  the 
dam.  All  the  logs  should  be  firmly  pinned  together. 
The  velocity  of  the  stream  will  determine  the  distance 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


215 


between  the  cribs.  The  intervening  spaces  are  occupied 
with  logs,  firmly  fastened  in  their  places.  Stone  is  filled 


Fig.  194. — LOG  FRAME  FOR  A  DAM. 


In  between  the  logs,  and  the  bottom  is  made  water-tight 
with  brush  and  clay. 

Adam  without  cribs,  built  of  timbers  spliced  together, 
and  reaching  quite  across  the  stream,  is  shown  in  figure 
194.  The  frame  is  bound  together  with  tiers  of  cross-tim¬ 
bers  about  ten  feet  apart.  The  sides  of  this  framework 
of  spliced  logs  are  slanting  and  nearly  meet  at  the  top. 
The  interior  is  filled  with  stone  and  clay,  and  planked 
over  tightly,  both  front  and  rear.  For  a  small  stream 
■with  an  ordinary  current,  this  is  perhaps  the  cheapest 
and  most  durable  dam  made.  The  engravings  fully 
illustrate  the  construction  of  the  two  forms. 


DRIVING  HOP  AND  OTHER  POLES. 

The  usual  method  of  driving  stakes,  etc.,  is  to  strike 
them  on  the  upper  end  with  a  sledge  or  other  heavy  ar¬ 
ticle  ;  but  in  the  case  of  hop  or  other  long  poles  this 
mode  is  impracticable.  Hop  poles  are  usually  set  by 
making  a  hole  with  an  iron  bar  and  forcing  into  it  the 


216 


EA11M  CONVENIENCES. 


lower  end  of  the  pole.  Poles  and  other  long  stakes  often 

need  to  be  driven  deeply  in  the 
ground,  and  this  may  be  done  quick¬ 
ly,  and  without  a  high  step  or  plat¬ 
form,  by  using  a  device  shown  in 
figure  195.  This  consists  of  a  block 
of  tough  wood,  one  foot  in  length, 
four  or  five  inches  square  at  the  top, 
made  tapering,  as  shown,  with  the 
part  next  the  pole  slightly  hollowed 
out.  Take  a  common  trace  chain, 
wind  closely  about  the  block  and 
pole,  and  hook  it  in  position.  With 
an  axe,  sledge,  or  beetle,  strike 
heavy  blows  upon  the  block.  Each 
blow  serves  only  to  tighten  the  grip 
Fig.  i95^Td riving  of  the  chain  upon  the  pole.  In  this 
block.  way,  quite  large  poles  or  stakes  may 

be  quickly  driven  firmly  in  the  ground.  To  keep  the 
chain  from  falling  to  the  ground  when  unfastened  from 
the  pole,  it  should  pass  through  a  hole  bored  through 
the  block. 


A  CONVENIENT  GRAIN  BOX. 

The  box  here  represented,  figure  196,  is  at  the  foot, 
and  just  outside  of  the  bin.  It  serves  as  a  step  when 
emptying  grain  into  the  bin.  The  front  side  of  it  is 
formed  by  two  pieces  of  boards,  hung  on  hinges  at  the 
outside  corners,  and  fastened  at  the  middle  with  a  hook 
and  staple.  The  contrivance  opens  into  the  bin  at  the 
back,  thus  allowing  the  grain  to  flow  into  it.  When  a 
quantity  of  grain  is  to  be  taken  from  the  bin,  the  cover 
is  fastened  up,  the  front  pieces  swung  round,  giving  a 
chance  to  use  the  scoop-shovel  to  fill  bags  or  measures. 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


217 


The  box  is  a  foot  deep  and  sixteen  inches  wide.  Its 
length  is  the  same  as  the  width  of  the  bin.  The  first 
four  boards,  forming  the  front  of  the  bin,  may  be  made 
stationary  by  this  arrangement,  as,  at  that  convenient 
hight,  bags  may  be  emptied  over  by  using  the  box  as  a 
step.  The  cost  of  this  is  about  seventy-five  cents.  An 
improvement  has  the  front  piece  and  ends  nailed  together. 


Fig.  190.  GRAIN  BOXES.  Fig.  197. 


and  the  whole  fastened  to  the  bin-posts  by  hooks  and 
staples  from  the  end-pieces,  as  shown  in  figure  197. 
Then  the  whole  could  be  removed  by  unhooking  the  fast¬ 
enings,  and  the  cover  could  be  let  down,  to  form  the 
lower  board  on  the  front  of  the  bin,  if  desired. 


A  ROAD-SCRAPER. 

A  road-scraper  is  shown  in  figure  198,  which  consists 
of  a  heavy  plank  or  hewn  log,  of  oak  or  any  other  hard 
timber,  six  feet  long,  six  inches  in  thickness,  and  ten 
inches  wide.  A  scantling,  5,  two  by  four  inches  thick 
and  six  feet  long,  and  the  brace,  c,  are  secured  to  the 
log,  a ,  by  a  strong  bolt.  The  edge  of  the  scraper  is 
made  of  an  old  drag-saw,  and  secured  by  rod-iron 
nails.  The  scantling  serves  as  a  reach,  and  is  attached 
to  the  front  part  of  a  heavy  wagon,  when  in  use.  When 
10 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


218 

the  road  is  very  hard,  it  becomes  necessary  sometimes 
for  the  driver  to  stand  on  the  scraper,  to  make  it  take 
better  hold.  The  scraper  should  be  shaped  about  as 

e 


Fig  198. — A  ROAD-SCRAPER. 

shown  at  d ,  in  the  engraving,  so  as  to  make  it  run  steady, 
and  cause  the  loose  dirt  to  slide  to  one  side,  and  leave 
it  in  the  middle  of  the  road. 


AIDS  IN  DIGGING  ROOT  CROPS. 

Figure  199  shows  a  carrot  and  sugar  beet  lifter,  made 
in  the  following  manner  :  Take  a  piece  of  hard  wood, 
two  and  a  half  by  three  inches,  and  six  feet  long,  for  the 
main  piece,  a ,  into  which  make  a  mortise  two  feet  from 


Fig.  199. — A  ROOT  LIFTER. 

the  wheel  end,  to  receive  the  lifting  foot  (figure  200)  ; 
attach  two  handles,  b,  b,  at  one  end,  and  a  wheel,  c,  at 
the  other.  This  wheel  can  be  set  high  or  low  as  desired, 
by  the  set  screw,  d ,  in  the  clevis,  e.  Figure  201  shows 
the  lifting  “foot”  separate  from  the  machine.  This  is 
made  of  flat  iron  or  steel,  five-eighths  inch  thick  and 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


2ls 


three  inches  wide,  with  a  steel  point  and  a  small  w  <ng 
at  the  bottom.  It  is  in  the  curved  form  seen  in  the 
engraving.  The  roots  are  first  topped  with  a  sharp  hoe 
or  sickle,  two  rows  of  tops  being  thrown  into  one,  which 
leaves  one  side  of  the  rows  clear  for  the  lifter.  The 
horse  walks  between  the  rows  and  the  foot  of  the  imple¬ 
ment  enters  the  ground  at  the  side  of  the  roots  in  a 


Fig.  200. 


slanting  direction,  as  shown  in  figure  201,  lifting  the 
roots  so  they  may  be  rapidly  picked  up.  The  imple¬ 
ment  is  very  easily  made  to  run  deep  or  shallow,  by 
simply  changing  the  wheel  and  lifting,  or  pressing  down 
upon  the  handles.  A  “foot,”  made  in  the  form  of 
figure  200,  may  be  placed  in  the  centre  arm  of  a  com¬ 
mon  horse  hoe  with  sides  closed,  and  used  as  above. 


THE  WOOD-LOT  IN  WINTER. 

A  few  acres  in  trees  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  a 
farmer’s  possessions  ;  yet  no  part  of  the  farm  is  so  mis¬ 
treated,  if  not  utterly  neglected.  Aside  from  the  fuel 
the  wood-lot  affords,  it  is  both  a  great  saving  and  a 
great  convenience  to  have  a  stick  of  ash,  oak,  or  hickory 
on  hand,  to  repair  a  break-down,  or  to  build  some  kind 
of  rack  or  other  appliance.  As  a  general  thing,  such 
timber  as  one  needs  is  cut  off,  without  any  reference  to 


220 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


what  is  left.  By  a  proper  selection  in  cutting,  and  the 
encouragement  of  the  young  growth,  the  wood-lot  will 
not  only  continue  to  give  a  supply  indefinitely,  but  even 
increase  in  value.  A  beginning,  and  often  the  whole,  of 
the  improvement  of  the  wood-lot,  is  usually  to  send  a 
man  or  two  to  “ brush  it,”  or  clean  away  the  under¬ 
brush.  This  is  a  great  mistake.  The  average  laborer 
will  cut  down  everything ;  fine  young  trees,  five  or  six 
years  old,  go  into  the  heap  with  young  poplars  and  the 
soft  underbrush.  The  first  point  in  the  management  of 
the  wood-lot  is,  to  provide  for  its  continuance,  and  gen¬ 
erally  there  are  young  trees  in  abundance,  ready  to  grow 
on  as  soon  as  given  a  chance.  In  the  bracing  winter 
mornings  one  can  find  no  more  genial  and  profitable 
exercise  than  in  the  wood-lot.  Hard-wooded  and  use¬ 
ful  young  trees  should  not  have  to  struggle  with  a  mass 
of  useless  brush,  and  a  judicious  clearing  up  may  well 
be  the  first  step.  In  timber,  we  need  a  clean,  straight, 
gradually  tapering  and  thoroughly  sound  trunk.  In 
the  dense  forest,  nature  provides  this.  The  trees  are 
so  crowded  that  they  grow  only  at  the  upper  branches. 
The  lower  branches,  while  young,  are  starved  out  and 
soon  perish,  the  wounds  soon  healing  over  are  out  of 
sight.  In  our  open  wood-lots,  the  trees  have  often  large 
heads,  and  the  growth  that  should  be  forming  the  trunk 
is  scattered  over  a  great  number  of  useless  branches. 
Only  general  rules  can  be  given  in  pruning  neglected 
timber  trees  ;  the  naked  trunk,  according  to  age,  should 
be  from  one-third  to  one-half  the  whole  hight  of  the 
tree ;  hence  some  of  the  lower  branches  may  need  to  be 
cut  away.  All  the  branches  are  to  be  so  shortened  in  or 
cut  back  as  to  give  the  head  an  oval  or  egg-shaped  out¬ 
line.  This  may  sometimes  remove  half  of  the  head,  but 
its  good  effects  will  be  seen  in  a  few  years.  In  removing 
branches,  leave  no  projecting  stub  on  the  timber,  and 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


22 1 


cover  all  large  wounds  witli  coal-tar.  Whosoever  works 
in  this  manner  thoughtfully  cannot  go  far  astray. 


SWINGING-STALL  FRONTS. 


The  value  of  swinging-stall  fronts  is  appreciated  by 
those  who  have  used  them.  They  prevent  the  animals 
from  putting  their  heads  out  into  the  alleys,  and 
endangering  themselves  thereby.  The  “cribber,”  or 
“  windsucker,”  has  been  made  such  by  want  of  a  con¬ 
trivance  like  the  one  shown  in  figure  202.  Anyone 
with  a  moderate  knowledge  of  the  use  of  tools  can  put 
it  up,  as  the  engraving  shows  how  it  is  made ;  a ,  a, 


Fig.  202.— FRONT  OF  STALLS. 

being  straps  to  fasten  the  “  fronts  ”  down  into  place  when 
they  are  not  raised  to  feed  the  stock.  Inch  stuff  consti¬ 
tutes  the  material.  The  cleats  to  which  the  strips  are 
attached  should  be  four  inches  wide,  with  the  sharp,  ex¬ 
posed  edges  taken  off  with  a  plane.  The  strips  should  be 
from  two  to  two  and  a  half  inches  wide,  and  attached  with 
screws  or  wrought  nails.  The  hinges  can  either  be  of 
wrought  iron  or  of  heavy  leather.  If  more  durable 
fronts  are  desired,  oak,  or  yellow  pine  can  be  used, 
though  it  is  much  more  expensive.  Unplaned  lumber 
will  answer,  but  to  make  a  neat,  workmanlike  job  had 
better  use  planed  lumber. 


222 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


LAVE  ALL  CORN  FODDER  EVERYWHERE. 

The  profits  of  farming,  as  in  other  business,  is  the 
margin  between  receipts  and  expenditures.  The  receipts 
are  largely  augmented  by  saving  wastes ;  these  wastes  in 
farming  are  enormous  in  the  aggregate.  The  losses  in 
this  direction,  that  might  be  saved,  would  make  the  bus¬ 
iness  very  profitable,  where  it  is  now  barely  paying,  or 
not  doing  that.  Take  com  stalks,  for  example.  The 
leaves  and  a  portion  of  the  stems  that  produce  each  bushel 
of  corn  have  a  certain  amount  of  nutriment  that  would 
support  and  increase  the  weight  and  growth  of  animals. 
Yet  of  our  great  corn  crop,  seventeen  hundred  to  two 
thousand  million  bushels  annually,  only  a  very  small  part 
of  the  fodder  is  turned  to  much  account.  At  the  very 
lowest  estimate,  the  stalks  yielding  one  bushel  of  corn 
are  on  the  average  worth  ten  cents  for  feed,  even  includ¬ 
ing  the  great  corn  regions — a  total  of  two  hundred  mil¬ 
lion  dollars.  At  the  South,  generally,  little  value  is 
attached  to  corn  stalks  as  fodder.  At  the  West,  many 
farmers  let  their  cattle  roam  in  the  fields,  pick  off  some 
leaves,  eat  a  little  of  the  stalk,  and  trample  the  rest 
down  ;  they  pack  the  earth  so  much  in  trampling  on  it, 
that  the  damage  thus  done  to  many  fields  surpasses  the 
value  of  the  food  obtained. 

Nearly  the  whole  of  a  corn  stalk,  except  a  very  little 
of  the  thin,  hard  outside  coating,  affords  nutritious  fod¬ 
der,  if  it  is  cut  at  the  proper  time,  is  well  cured  and  ju¬ 
diciously  fed.  It  needs  to  be  cut  when  not  so  green  as 
to  mould  in  the  shock,  but  not  so  ripe  as  to  lose  all  its 
succulence  and  become  woody.  Experience  and  obser¬ 
vation  will  generally  indicate  to  every  one  the  proper 
time  of  cutting  it. 

In  shocking  corn,  the  stalks  should  be  kept  straight  and 
parallel.  The  shocks  should  be  large  enough  to  not  have 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


223 


too  many  stalks  exposed  to  the  weather,  yet  small  enough 
to  dry  and  cure  through.  For  somewhat  heavy  corn, 
twelve  hills  square  (one  hundred  and  forty- four  hills),  is 
abundant  for  one  shock.  A  good  mode  of  shocking  is 
this  :  When  the  shocks  are  set  nearly  perpendicular, 
draw  the  tops  together  very  firmly  with  a  rope,  and  tie 
temporarily — two  men  working  together.  Bind  with 
straw  or  with  stalks.  For  the  latter  choose  tough,  nearly 
ripe,  long,  slender  stalks.  “  Bend-break  ”  the  top  with 
the  thumb  and  finger  every  two  or  three  inches.  Thrust 
the  butt  end  into  the  shock  and  towards  the  centre  nearly 
two  feet,  and  carefully  bend-break  it  at  the  surface  to  a 
right  angle.  Insert  a  similar  top-broken  stalk  two  feet 
distant ;  bring  the  top  of  the  first  one  firmly  around  the 
shock,  bend  it  around  the  second  stalk  close  to  the  shock, 
and  then  bend  the  second  stalk  around  and  over  a  third 
one  ;  and  so  on,  using  as  many  stalks  as  required  by  size 
of  shock  and  length  of  binders.  Bring  the  end  of  the 
last  one  over  the  bend  in  the  first,  and  tuck  it  under  the 
binder  into  a  loop,  into  which  insert  a  stalk  stub,  push¬ 
ing  it  into  the  shock  to  hold  the  loop.  All  this  is  more 
quickly  done  than  described. 


IMPROVED  BRUSH  RAKE. 

One  of  the  most  disagreeable  tasks  connected  with  a 
hedge  fence  is  gathering  and  burning  the  annual  or  semi¬ 
annual  trimmings.  It  is  generally  done  with  pitchforks, 
and  often  causes  pain.  To  have  a  long  shoot,  covered 
with  thorns  an  inch  long,  spring  out  from  a  roll  of 
brush  and  hit  one  square  across  the  countenance,  is  ex¬ 
asperating  in  the  extreme.  To  avoid  this  danger,  many 
expedients  are  resorted  to.  Among  the  best  of  these 
is  a  long,  strong  rail,  with  a  horse  hitched  to  each  end 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


224 


by  means  of  ropes  or  chains  eight  or  ten  feet  long.  A 
boy  is  placed  on  each  horse,  and  two  men  with  heavy 
sticks,  eight  or  ten  feet  long,  follow.  The  horses  walk 
on  each  side  of  the  row  of  brush,  and  the  men  place 
one  end  of  their  sticks  just  in  front  of  the  rail,  and  hold 
them  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees,  to  pre¬ 
vent  the  brush  from  sliding  over  it.  When  a  load  is 
gathered,  the  horses  are  turned  about,  and  the  rail  with¬ 
drawn  from  the  brush. 

The  device  shown  in  figure  203  is  an  improvement 
on  this  method.  A  good,  heavy  pole,  eight  to  twelve 
feet  long,  has  four  or  five  two-inch  hard- wood  teeth  set 
in  it,  as  seen  in  the  cut.  These  teeth  may  be  twelve  to 


Fig.  203. — A  BRUSH  RAKE. 


twenty  inches  long,  and  slide  on  the  ground  in  front  of 
the  pole  similar  to  those  of  a  revolving  hay  rake.  The 
handles  are  six  to  eight  feet  long,  of  ash  or  other  tough 
wood,  and  fit  loosely  into  the  holes  in  the  pole.  Two 
horses  are  employed,  one  at  each  end  of  the  rake.  One 
man  holds  the  handles,  and  raises  or  lowers  the  teeth  as 
necessary.  When  a  load  is  gathered,  the  handles  are 
withdrawn,  the  ends  of  the  teeth  strike  the  ground, 
throw  the  pole  up,  and  it  passes  over  the  heap.  After 
a  little  practice,  a  man  can  handle  this  rake  so  as  to 
gather  up  either  large  or  small  brush  perfectly  clean, 
and  do  it  rapidly. 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


225 


DIGGING  MUCK  AND  PEAT. 

A  dry  fall  often  furnishes  the  best  time  in  the  whole 
circle  of  the  year  for  procuring  the  needed  supply  of 
muck  or  peat  for  absorbents  in  the  sty  and  stable.  The 
use  of  this  article  is  on  the  increase  among  those  farm¬ 
ers  who  have  faithfully  tried  it,  and  are  seeking  to  make 
the  most  of  home  resources  of  fertilizers.  Some  who 
have  used  muck  only  in  the  raw  state  have  probably 
abandoned  it,  but  this  does  not  impeach  its  value.  All 
that  is  claimed  for  it  has  been  proved  substantially  cor¬ 
rect,  by  the  practice  of  thousands  of  our  most  intelligent 
cultivators,  in  all  parts  of  the  land.  There  is  consider¬ 
able  difference  in  its  value,  depending  somewhat  upon 
the  vegetable  growth  of  which  it  is  mainly  composed, 
but  almost  any  of  it,  if  exposed  to  the  atmosphere  a  year 
before  use,  will  pay  abundantly  for  digging.  This  dried 
article,  kept  under  cover,  should  be  constantly  in  the 
stables,  in  the  sties  and  sinks,  and  in  the  compost  heap. 
So  long  as  there  is  the  smell  of  ammonia  from  the  stable 
or  manure  heap,  you  need  more  of  this  absorbent.  Hun¬ 
dreds  of  dollars  are  wasted  on  many  a  farm,  every  year, 
for  want  of  some  absorbent  to  catch  this  volatile  and  most 
valuable  constituent  of  manure.  In  some  sections  it  is 
abundant  within  a  short  distance  of  the  barn.  The  most 
difficult  part  of  supplying  this  absorbent  is  the  digging. 
In  a  dry  fall  the  water  has  evaporated  from  the  swamps, 
so  that  the  peat  bed  can  be  excavated  to  a  depth  of  four 
or  five  feet  at  a  single  digging.  Oftentimes  ditching,  for 
the  sake  of  surface  draining,  will  give  the  needed  supply 
of  absorbents.  It  will  prove  a  safe  investment  to  hire 
extra  labor  for  the  enlargement  of  the  muck  bank.  It 
helps  right  where  our  farming  is  weakest — in  the  manu¬ 
facture  of  fertilizers.  It  is  a  good  article  not  only  for 
oompost  with  stable  manure,  but  to  mix  with  other  fertil- 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


22t> 

izers,  as  butcher’s  offal,  night  soil,  kainite,  ashes,  bona 
dust,  fish,  rock  weed,  kelp,  and  other  marine  products. 
Dig  the  muck  when  most  convenient  and  have  it  ready. 


A  CLEANER  FOR  HORSES’  HOOFS. 

The  engraving  herewith  given  shows  a  simple  and 
convenient  implement  for  removing  stones  and  other 
substances  from  between  the  frog  and  the  ends  of  a 
horse’s  shoe.  Its  value  for  this  and  other  purposes  will 
be  quickly  appreciated  by  every  driver  and  horse  owner. 
When  not  in  use,  the  hook  is  turned  within  the  loop  of 


Ylg.  204. — A  HOOF-CLEANER. 


the  nandle,  and  the  whole  is  easily  carried  in  the  pocket. 
The  engraving  shows  the  implement  open,  two  and  one- 
half  times  reduced  in  size.  If  horsemen  keep  this 
cleaner  within  easy  reach,  it  will  often  serve  a  good 
turn,  and  be  of  greater  value  than  a  pocket  corkscrew. 


COLD  WEATHER  SHELTER  FOR  STOCK  PROFITABLE. 

Not  one  farmer  in  a  hundred  understands  the  impor¬ 
tance  of  shelter  for  stock.  This  has  much  to  do  with 
success  or  failure  of  tens  of  thousands  of  farmers.  Ani¬ 
mals  fairly  sheltered  consume  from  ten  to  forty  per  cent, 
less  food,  increase  more  in  weight,  come  out  in  spring  far 
healthier  ;  and  working  and  milk-producing  animals  are 
much  better  able  to  render  effective  service.  The  loss 


EAKM  CONVENIENCES. 


221 


of  one  or  more  working  horses  or  oxen,  or  of  cows,  or 
other  farm  stock,  is  often  a  staggering  blow  to  those 
scarcely  able  to  make  the  ends  of  the  year  meet,  and  the 
large  majority  of  such  losses  of  animals  are  traceable  to 
diseases  due,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  improper  protec¬ 
tion  in  autumn,  winter,  or  spring.  Of  the  food  eaten, 
all  the  animals  use  up  a  large  percentage  in  producing 
the  natural  heat  of  the  body  at  all  seasons,  and  heat 
enough  to  keep  up  ninety-eight  degrees  all  through  the 
body  is  absolutely  essential.  Only  what  food  remains 
after  this  heat  is  provided  in  the  system  can  go  to  increase 
growth  and  strength,  and  to  the  manufacture  of  milk 
in  cows  and  of  eggs  in  fowls.  When  heat  escapes  rap¬ 
idly  from  the  surface,  as  in  cold  weather,  more  heat  must 
be  produced  within,  and  more  food  be  thus  consumed. 
In  nature  this  is  partly  guarded  against  by  thicker  hair 
or  fur  in  winter. 

Any  thinking  man  will  see  that  an  animal  either  re¬ 
quires  less  food,  or  has  more  left  for  other  uses,  if  it  is 
protected  artificially  against  winds  that  carry  off  heat 
rapidly,  and  against  storms  that  promote  the  loss  of  heat 
by  evaporation  of  moisture  from  the  surface  of  the  body. 
A  dozen  cows,  for  example,  will  consume  from  two  to 
six  tons  more  of  hay  if  left  exposed  from  October  to 
April,  than  if  warmly  sheltered,  and  in  the  latter  case 
they  will  be  in  much  better  health  and  vigor,  and  give 
much  more  milk.  Other  cattle,  horses,  sheep  and  swine 
will  be  equally  benefited  by  careful  protection. 


GOOD  STONE  TROUGHS  OR  TANKS. 

Figure  205  shows  an  unpatented  stone  water  tank,  or 
trough,  neat,  effective,  and  readily  constructed  by  almost 
any  one.  These  troughs  may  be  of  any  length,  width 


228 


FAKM  CONVENIENCES. 


and  depth  desired,  according  to  their  position,  use,  and 
the  size  of  stones  available.  Here  are  the  figures  of  the 
one  shown  :  The  two  side-pieces  are  flagging  stones, 
six  feet  long  and  twenty-seven  inches  wide.  The  bottom- 
piece  is  four  feet  ten  inches  long,  two  feet  wide  ;  and  the 
two  end-pieces,  two  feet  long,  twenty  inches  wide,  or  high. 
These  stones  were  all  a  little  under  two  inches  thick.  Five 
rods,  of  three-eighths  inch  round  iron,  have  a  flat  head  on 
one  end,  and  screw  and  nut  on  the  other ;  or  there  may 


Fig.  205. — A  STONE  TROUGH. 

I 

be  simply  a  screw  and  nut  on  each  end  ;  they  must  not 
extend  out  to  be  in  the  way.  Five  holes  are  bored  or 
drilled  through  each  side-piece,  which  is  easily  done  with 
brace  and  bit  in  ordinary  stone.  The  middle  hole  is  four 
to  five  inches  above  the  bottom  edge,  so  that  the  rod 
through  it  will  fit  under  and  partially  support  the  bot¬ 
tom  stone.  The  end  rods  are  about  four  inches  from 
the  ends  of  the  side-pieces,  and  stand  clear  of  the  end 
stones  in  this  case  so  that  the  dipper  handles  hang  upon 
them;  but  they  may  run  against  the  end  stones.  When 
setting  up,  the  stones  being  placed  nearly  in  position, 
newly-mixed  hydraulic  cement  is  placed  in  all  the  joints, 
and  the  rods  screwed  up  firmly.  The  mortar  squeezed 
out  in  tightening  the  rods  is  smoothed  off  neatly,  so  that 
when  hardened  the  whole  is  almost  compact  solid  stone¬ 
work — if  good  water-lime  be  used.  Almost  any  flat 
stones  will  answer,  if  the  edges  of  the  bottom  and  end- 
pieces  be  dressed  and  a  somewhat  smooth  groove  be  cut 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


229 


in  the  side-pieces  for  them  to  fit  into  or  against.  The 
mortar  will  fill  up  any  irregularities.  A  little  grooving 
will  give  a  better  support  to  the  bottom-piece  and  the 
ends  than  the  simple  cement  and  small  rods.  It  will  be 
noted  that  the  side-pieces  extend  down,  like  sleigh  run¬ 
ners,  leaving  an  open  space  below.  A  hole  can  be  drilled 
in  a  lower  edge  to  let  out  the  water  in  hard  freezing 
weather,  and  be  stopped  with  a  wooden  plug.  Such 
tanks  will  keep  water  purer  than  wood,  and  last  a  cen¬ 
tury  or  longer,  if  not  allowed  to  be  broken  by  freezing. 
Any  leakage  can  be  quickly  stopped  by  draining  off  the 
water  and  applying  a  little  cement  mortar  where  needed. 
When  flagging  or  other  flat  stones  are  plentiful,  the 
work  and  cost  would  be  little,  if  any,  more  than  for 
wooden  tanks.  They  can  be  set  in  the  ground  if  de¬ 
sired.  The  iron  rods  need  painting,  or  covering  with 
asphalt,  to  prevent  rusting. 


ARTIFICIAL  FEEDING  OF  LAMBS. 

It  frequently  happens  that  artificial  feeding  of  lambs 
is  necessary,  and  to  do  it  successfully  good  judgment  is 
required.  The  point  is  to  promote  a  healthy  and  rapid 
growth,  and  not  allow  the  lambs  to  scour.  The  milk  of 
some  cows,  especially  Jerseys,  is  too  rich,  and  should  be 
diluted  with  a  little  warm  water.  Farrow  cows’  milk, 
alone,  is  not  a  good  feed,  since  it  frequently  causes  con¬ 
stipation.  It  may  be  given  by  adding  a  little  cane  mo¬ 
lasses.  Milk,  when  fed,  should  be  at  about  its  natural 
temperature,  and  not  scalded.  Lambs,  and  especially 
“  pet  ”  lambs,  are  often  “killed  with  kindness.”  Feed 
only  about  a  gill  to  a  half  pint  at  first.  After  the  lamb 
has  become  accustomed  to  the  milk,  it  may  be  fed  to  the 
extent  of  its  appetite.  When  old  enough,  feed  a  little 
flax  seed  and  oats,  or  oil-meal  if  early  fattening  is  desired. 


230 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


There  are  various  methods  of  feeding  young  lambs  arti¬ 
ficially.  A  satisfactory  way  is  to  use  a  one-quart  kerosene 
oil  can  with  the  spout  fixed  so  as  to  attach  a  nipple  ;  the 
milk  flows  more  freely  from  this  than  from  a  bottle,  on 
account  of  the  vent.  Let  ewes  and  lambs  have  clean, 
well-ventilated  apartments.  When  the  weather  is  mild 
and  warm  turn  them  out  into  the  yard.  If  it  is  not  con¬ 
venient  to  let  the  ewes  out,  arrange  partitions  and  pens, 
so  that  the  lambs  may  enjoy  the  outside  air  and  sun¬ 
light. 


A  CONVENIENT  BAILED  BOX. 

The  common  box  with  a  bail,  or  handle,  is  a  useful 
farm  appliance  ;  it  answers  the  purpose  of  a  basket,  is 
much  more  durable,  and  a  great  deal  cheaper.  Instead 
of  a  flat  bail,  we  would  suggest,  for  heavy  work,  a  green 
hickory  or  other  tough  stick,  to  be  chamfered  off  where 
it  is  nailed  to  the  sides  of  the  box,  the  portion  for  the 


hand  being,  of  course,  left  round.  It  will  be  found  use¬ 
ful  to  have  these  boxes  of  a  definite  size,  to  hold  a  half¬ 
bushel  or  a  bushel.  A  legal  bushel  is  two  thousand  one 
hundred  and  fifty  (and  a  fraction)  cubic  inches.  A  box 
may  be  made  of  this  capacity  of  any  desired  shape. 
Ends  a  foot  square,  and  side-pieces  and  the  bottom 


FA  KM  CONVENIENCES. 


231 


eighteen  and  a  half-inches  long,  will  make  a  bushel  box. 
If  desired  narrower,  make  the  ends  eight  inches  high  and 
fourteen  inches  wide,  with  the  sides  and  bottom  two  feet 
long.  Such  a  box,  shown  in  figure  206,  holds  a  very  lit¬ 
tle  more  than  an  even  bushel.  It  is  inexpensive. 


SAWDUST  FOR  BEDDING. 

We  have  tried  for  two  years  dry  sawdust  in  the  cows’ 
stable,  and  on  the  whole  like  it  better  than  any  bedding 
we  have  ever  tried.  It  makes  a  more  comfortable  bed, 
completely  absorbs  the  urine,  and  the  cow  is  kept  clean 
with  less  labor  than  when  any  other  is  used.  The  ob¬ 
jection  to  salt-marsh  sods,  dried,  or  to  headlands,  and 
dry  muck,  is  that  they  soil  the  cow,  and  make  it  neces¬ 
sary  to  wash  the  bag  before  milking.  Straw,  of  all  sorts, 
soon  becomes  foul,  and,  without  more  care  than  the  ordi¬ 
nary  hired  man  is  likely  to  bestow,  soils  the  cow’s  bag 
also.  Dry  sawdust  is  clean,  and  makes  a  soft,  spongy 
bed,  and  is  an  excellent  absorbent.  The  bag  is  kept 
clean  with  the  aid  of  a  coarse  brush  without  washing. 
A  charge  of  fifteen  bushels  in  a  common  box-stall,  or 
cow  stable,  will  last  a  month,  if  the  manure,  dropped 
upon  the  surface,  is  removed  daily.  The  porous  nature 
of  the  material  admits  of  perfect  drainage,  and  of  rapid 
evaporation,  of  the  liquid  part  of  the  manure.  The  saw¬ 
dust  is  not  so  perfect  an  absorbent  of  ammonia  as  muck, 
but  it  is  a  much  better  one  than  straw,  that  needs  to  be 
dried  daily,  in  the  sun  and  wind,  to  keep  it  in  comfort¬ 
able  condition  for  the  animals.  In  the  vicinity  of  saw 
and  shingle  mills,  and  of  ship-yards,  the  sawdust  accu¬ 
mulates  rapidly,  and  is  a  troublesome  waste  that  mill- 
owners  are  glad  to  be  rid  of.  It  can  be  had  for  the  cart¬ 
ing.  But  even  where  it  is  sold  at  one  or  two  cents  a 
bushel,  a  common  price,  it  makes  a  very  cheap  and  sub- 


232 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


stantial  bedding.  The  saturated  sawdust  makes  an  ex** 
cellent  manure,  and  is  so  fine  that  it  can  be  used  to  ad¬ 
vantage  in  drills.  It  is  valuable  to  loosen  compact  clay 
soils,  and  will  help  to  retain  moisture  on  thin,  sandy  and 
gravelly  soils.  There  is  a  choice  in  the  varieties  of  saw¬ 
dust  for  manure,  but  not  much  for  bedding.  The  hard 
woods  make  a  much  better  fertilizer  than  the  resinous 
timber.  To  keep  a  milch  cow  in  clean,  comfortable 
condition,  we  have  not  found  its  equal. 


A  CHEAP  ENSILAGE  CART. 

The  adoption  by  many  farmers  of  the  silo  method  of 
preserving  fodder,  has  made  it  necessary  to  change  the 
manner  of  feeding  live  stock.  When  the  ensilage  is  re¬ 
moved  twenty  feet  or  more  from  the  silo  to  the  feeding 
rack,  it  is  best  to  have  some  means  of  conveying  it  in 


Fig.  207. — AN  ENSILAGE  CART. 


quantities  of  from  one  to  two  hundred  pounds  at  a  time. 
This  can  be  done  cheaply  and  quickly  by  a  small  hand' 
cart,  one  of  which  any  farmer  having  the  tools  can  make 
in  half  a  day.  A  good  form  of  ensilage  cart  is  shown  in 
figure  207,  and  is  simply  a  box  eighteen  inches  wide. 


FAEM  CONVENIENCES. 


233 


three  feet  long,  and  two  and  a  half  feet  in  hight.  A 
wooden  axle,  of  some  tough  fibre,  is  nailed  to  the  bottom, 
ten  inches  from  the  end,  and  wheels  from  one  to  two 
feet  in  diameter  are  placed  upon  the  axle.  Suitable 
wheels  can  be  made  from  planks,  with  cleats  nailed  on 
to  keep  them  from  splitting.  Handles  and  legs  are  at- 
tached  as  shown  in  the  engraving.  The  axle  being  near 
the  centre,  throws  nearly  the  whole  weight  of  the  load 
upon  it  while  being  moved.  It  will  be  found  easier  to 
handle  than  a  barrow,  and  not  so  liable  to  upset  when 
unequally  loaded.  It  is  a  cheap  arrangement,  and  may 
be  used  for  various  other  purposes  as  well  as  for  moving 
ensilage. 


MILKING  AND  MILKING  TIME. 

Any  one  who  has  had  to  do  with  dairy  farming  knows 
that  there  are  a  great  many  poor  milkers,  against  a  few 
who  understand  and  practice  the  proper  method  of  re¬ 
moving  the  milk  from  a  cow.  It  is  a  well-known  fact 
that  some  persons  can  obtain  more  milk  from  a  cow 
with  greater  ease  and  in  quicker  time  than  others.  In 
the  first  place,  there  must  be  an  air  and  spirit  of  gentle¬ 
ness  about  the  milker,  which  the  cow  is  quick  to  com¬ 
prehend  and  appreciate.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  a 
cow,  and  especially  a  nervous  one,  will  have  that  easy, 
quiet  condition  so  necessary  to  insure  an  unrestrained 
flow  of  milk,  when  she  is  approached  in  a  rough  way, 
and  has  a  person  at  her  teats  that  she  justly  dislikes. 
There  must  be  a  kindness  of  treatment  which  begets  a 
confidence  before  the  cow  will  do  her  best  at  the  pail. 
She  should  know  that  the  milker  comes  not  as  a  thief  to 
rob  her,  but  simply  to  ’elieve  her  of  her  burden,  and  do 
it  in  the  quickest,  quietest,  and  kindest  way  possible. 
The  next  point  in  proper  milking  is  cleanliness  :  and  it 


234 


FARM  COKVENIEIS'CES. 


is  of  the  greatest  importance  if  first-class  m/lk  and  but¬ 
ter  are  the  ends  to  be  gained  in  keeping  cows.  No  sub¬ 
stance  is  so  easily  tainted  and  spoiled  as  milk  ;  it  is  par¬ 
ticularly  sensitive  to  bad  odors  or  dirt  of  any  kind,  and 
unless  the  proper  neatness  is  observed  in  the  milking, 
the  products  of  the  dairy  will  be  faulty  and  second-class. 
Those  persons  who  can  and  will  practice  cleanliness  at 
the  cow,  are  the  only  ones  who  should  do  the  milking. 
It  matters  not  how  much  care  is  taken  to  be  neat  in  all 
the  operations  of  the  dairy,  if  the  milk  is  made  filthy  at 
the  start ;  no  strainer  will  take  out  the  bad  flavor. 
Three  all-essential  points  are  to  be  strictly  observed  in 
milking :  kindness,  quickness,  and  neatness.  Aside 
from  these  three  is  the  matter  of  the  time  of  milking. 
It  should  be  done  at  the  same  hour  each  and  every  day, 
Sundays  not  excepted.  It  is  both  cruel  and  unprofitable 
to  keep  the  cows  with  their  udders  distended  and  aching 
an  hour  over  their  time.  We  will  add  another  ness  to 
the  essentials  already  given,  namely:  promptness. 


A  REVOLVING  SHEEP  HURDLE. 

An  easily  moved  feeding  hurdle  is  shown  in  figure  208. 
It  consists  of  a  stout  pole  or  scantling  of  any  convenient 
length,  bored  with  two  series  of  holes,  alternating  in 
nearly  opposite  directions,  and  twelve  inches  apart. 
Small  poles  five  or  six  feet  long  are  so  placed  in  the  holes 
that  each  adjoining  pair  makes  the  form  of  the  letter  X. 
These  hurdles  are  arranged  in  a  row  across  the  field,  and 
the  sheep  feed  through  the  spaces  between  the  slanting 
poles.  The  hurdles  are  moved  forward  by  revolving 
them,  as  shown  in  the  engraving.  By  using  two  rows  of 
these  hurdles,  sheep  may  be  kept  on  a  narrow  strip  of 
land,  and  given  a  fresh  pasture  daily  by  advancing  the 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


235 


lines  of  hurdles.  This  method  of  feeding  off  a  forage 
crop  is  one  of  the  most  effective  and  inexpensive  for  en- 


Fig.  208. — A  REVOLVING  HURDLE  FENCE. 

nching  worn-out  land,  especially  if  a  daily  ration  ot 
grain  01  oil-cake  is  given  to  the  sheep. 


LIGHTS  IN  THE  BARN, 

It  is  estimated  that  nine-tenths  of  all  fires  are  caused 
by  carelessness.  Winter  is  the  season  when  the  lantern 
is  frequently  used  in  the  barn,  and  we  give  a  word  of 
caution.  Never  light  a  lamp  or  lantern  of  any  kind  in 
the  barn.  Smokers  may  include  their  pipes  and  cigars 
in  the  above.  The  lantern  should  be  lighted  in  the  house 
or  some  out-building  where  no  combustibles  are  stored. 
A  lantern  which  does  not  burn  well  should  never  be 
put  in  order  in  the  hay-mow.  There  is  a  great  tempta¬ 
tion  to  strike  a  match  and  re-light  an  extinguished  lan¬ 
tern,  wherever  it  may  be.  It  is  best  to  even  feel  one’s 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


236 

way  out  to  a  safe  place,  than  to  run  any  risks.  If  the 
ligiit  is  not  kept  in  the  hand,  it  should  be  hung  up. 
Provide  hooks  in  the  various  rooms  where  the  lights  are 
used.  A  wire  running  the  whole  length  of  the  horse 
stable,  at  the  rear  of  the  stalls,  and  furnished  with  a 
sliding  hook,  is  very  convenient  for  night  work  with  the 
horses.  Some  farmers  are  so  careless  as  to  keep  the 
lamp  oil  in  the  barn,  and  fill  the  lantern  there  while  the 
wick  is  burning.  Such  risks  are,  too  great,  even  if  the 
buildings  are  insured. 


A  NEST  FOR  SITTING  HENS. 

The  nest  box  shown  in  figure  209  can  be  made  to  con¬ 
tain  as  many  nests  as  desired,  and  be  placed  in  the 
poultry  house  or  any  other  convenient  place.  When  a 
hen  is  set  in  one  of  the  nests,  the  end  of  the  lever  is  slid 
from  under  the  catch  on  top  of  the  box,  and  the  door 
falls  over  the  entrance  to  keep  out  other  hens.  They 
rarely  molest  the  sitting  hen  after  she  has  held  exclusive 
possession  three  or  four  days,  and  the  drop  may  be  raised 


Fig.  209.— box  of  hens’  nest. 


again.  The  box  legs  should  not  he  over  six  inches  long. 
The  step  in  front  of  the  nests,  four  to  six  inches  wide, 
is  a  continuation  of  the  bottom  of  the  box.  It  is  a  vast 


FARM:  CONVENIENCES. 


23? 


improyemenfc  on  old  barrels,  broken  boxes,  and  othei 
makeshift  hens’  nests  so  generally  employed. 


BARN-YARD  ECONOMY. 

A  dark  stream,  often  of  golden  color,  always  of  golden 
yalue,  flows  to  waste  from  many  an  American  barn-yard. 
This  liquid  fertility  often  enters  the  side  ditch  of  the 
farm  lane,  sometimes  of  the  highway,  and  empties  into 
a  brook,  which  removes  it  beyond  the  reach  of  plants 
that  would  greatly  profit  by  it.  Mice  may  gnaw  a  hole 
into  the  granary  and  daily  abstract  a  small  quantity  of 
grain,  or  the  skunks  may  reduce  the  profits  of  the  poul¬ 
try  yards,  but  these  leaks  are  small  in  comparison  with 
that  from  the  poorly-constructed  and  ill-kept  barn-yard. 
The  most  valuable  part  of  manure  is  that  which  is  very 
soluble,  and  unless  it  is  retained  by  some  absorbent,  or 
kept  from  the  drenching  rains,  it  will  be  quickly  out  of 
reach.  Manure  is  a  manufactured  product,  and  the  suc¬ 
cess  of  all  farm  operations  in  the  older  States  depends 
upon  the  quantity  and  quality  of  this  product.  Other 
things  being  equal,  the  farmer  who  comes  out  in  the 
spring  with  the  largest  amount  of  the  best  quality  of 
manure  will  be  the  one  who  finds  farming  pays  the  best. 
A  barn-yard,  whether  on  a  side-hill  or  on  a  level,  with 
all  the  rains  free  to  fall  upon  the  manure  heap,  should 
be  so  arranged  as  to  lose  none  of  the  drainage.  Side-hill 
barn-yards  are  common,  because  the  barns  thus  located 
furnish  a  convenient  cellar.  A  barrier  of  earth  on  the 
lower  side  of  the  yard  can  be  quickly  thrown  up  with  a 
team  and  road-scraper,  which  will  catch  and  hold  the 
drench ings  of  the  yard  above,  and  the  coarse,  newly- 
made  manure  will  absorb  the  liquid  and  be  benefited  by 
it.  It  would  be  better  to  have  the  manure  made  and 


238 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


kept  under  cover,  always  well  protected  from  rains  and 
melting  snows.  Only  enough  moisture  should  be  pres¬ 
ent  to  keep  it  from  fermenting  too  rapidly.  An  old 
farmer  who  let  his  manure  take  care  of  itself,  once  kept 
some  of  his  sheep  under  cover,  and  was  greatly  surprised 
at  the  increased  value  of  the  manure  thus  made.  In 
fact,  it  was  so  4 4 strong”  that  when  scattered  as  thickly 
as  the  leached  dung  of  the  yard,  it  made  a  distinct  belt 
of  better  grain  in  the  field.  The  testimony  was  so  much 
in  favor  of  the  stall-made  manure  that  this  farmer  is 
now  keeping  all  his  live  stock  under  cover,  and  the  farm 
is  yielding  larger  crops  and  growing  richer  year  by  year. 
If  it  pays  to  stop  any  leak  in  the  granary,  it  is  all  the 
more  important  to  look  well  to  the  manure  that  fur¬ 
nishes  the  food,  that  feeds  the  plants,  that  grow  the 
grain,  that  fills  the  grain  bin.  At  this  season  the  living 
mills  are  all  grinding  the  hay  and  grain,  and  yielding 
the  by-products  of  the  manure  heap.  Much  may  be 
saved  in  spring  work  by  letting  this  heap  be  as  small 
as  out-door  yard  feeding  and  the  winds  and  rains  can 
make  it,  but  such  saving  is  like  that  of  the  economic 
sportsman  who  went  out  with  the  idea  of  using  as  little 
powder  and  lead  as  possible.  In  farming,  grow  the 
largest  possible  crops,  even  though  it  takes  a  week  or 
more  of  steady  hard  work  to  get  the  rich,  heavy,  well- 
prepared  manure  upon  the  fields.  More  than  this,  en¬ 
rich  the  land  by  throwing  every  stream  of  fertility  back 
upon  the  acres  which  have  yielded  it.  Watch  the  ma¬ 
nure  heap  as  you  would  a  mine  of  gold. 


A  CHEAP  MANURE  SHED. 

Many  farmers  waste  much  of  their  stable  manure  by 
throwing  it  out  of  doors  to  be  acted  upon  by  sun  and 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


239 


rain.  We  recently  saw  a  very  cheap,  sensible  method 
of  almost  wholly  preventing  such  loss.  A  board  roof, 
ten  feet  square,  is  supported  by  posts  eight  feet  long 
above  ground,  which  are  connected  inside  by  a  wall  of 
planks  (or  of  poles,  as  the  one  examined  was).  Near  the 
post  at  each  end,  stakes  a,  a(  figure  210),  are  set,  against 
which  one  end  of  the  end-planks  rest.  This  allows  the 


front  planks,  d,  d ,  to  be  removed  in  filling  or  loading. 
It  is  placed  near  the  stable,  preferably,  so  that  the  ma¬ 
nure  from  the  stable  can  be  thrown  directly  into  one 
corner,  whence  it  is  forked  to  the  opposite  corner  in  a 
few  days,  to  prevent  too  violent  fermentation.  A  fre¬ 
quent  addition  of  sods,  leaves,  and  other  materials  that 
will  decompose,  will  increase  the  heap,  and  improve  its 
value,  supplying  a  manure  superior  to  many  of  the  com¬ 
mercial  fertilizers,  at  less  cost. 


A  SHEEP  RACK. 

The  dimensions  of  the  rack  (fig.  211)  are  :  length 
twelve  feet,  width  two  feet  nine  inches,  and  bight  three 
feet.  The  materials  are  :  ten  boards  twelve  feet  long. 


FARM  COXVEKIENCES. 


240 

eight  of  them  ten  inches  wide,  one  seven  inches  wide, 
and  one  eight  inches  wide ;  four  boards,  two  feet  nine 
inches  long  and  twelve  inches  wide;  six  posts  three  by  four 
inches,  three  feet  long ;  sixty-four  slats,  sixteen  inches 
Jong  and  one  inch  square ;  and  two  strips,  twelve  feet 
long  and  two  and  a  half  inches  wide.  Nail  the  two  nar¬ 
rower  boards  in  the  shape  of  a  trough,  turn  it  bottom 
up,  and  draw  a  line  through  the  middle  of  each  side. 
Set  the  dividers  to  four  and  a  half  inches,  and  mark 
along  the  lines  for  holes  with  a  three-quarter-inch  bit, 
and  bore  the  narrow  strips  to  match.  Set  the  slats  into 
the  trough,  and  fasten  the  strips  on  their  upper  ends. 
Nail  two  of  the  boards  to  the  posts  on  each  side,  as  seen 
in  the  sketch,  and  also  the  short  boards  on  the  ends. 


Fig.  211. — FODDER  RACK  FOR  SHEEP. 


Lay  in  a  floor  one  foot  from  the  ground,  and  set  in  the 
trough  as  shown  in  the  engraving.  Fit  a  board  from 
the  slats  up  to  the  top  of  the  outside  of  the  frame.  The 
floor  need  not  cover  the  middle  under  the  trough. 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


241 


A  GOOD  PICKET  POINTER. 

On  many  farms  a  picket  pointer  might  never  be  of 
use,  but  anyone  wishing  to  put  up  a  picket  fence  a  hun¬ 
dred  or  more  feet  long  would  save 
time  by  making  one  for  the  occa¬ 
sion.  Pickets  may  be  purchased  ready 
pointed,  but  true  economy  consists  in 
doing  as  much  of  the  work  as  possible 
at  home.  This  arrangement  does  not 
concern  the  fancy-topped  pickets  some¬ 
times  seen,  but  simply  the  popular 
square  picket  with  pyramidal  point, 
which  makes,  after  all,  one  of  the  neat- 
Fig.  212. —  est  fences  that  can  be  found  for  the 

front  view.  yard.  The  waste  material  from  build¬ 
ing  or  fence-making,  and  an  hour’s  time,  will  suffice  for 
its  making. 

A  bit  of  studding  material,  30  inches  long,  has  a  hard¬ 
wood  strip  three  inches  wide  nailed  on  each  side  so  as  to 
project  half  of  its  width  forward, 
thus  forming  a  groove  in  which 
the  picket  is  held,  as  will  be  seen 
later.  They  extend  lower  down 
than  the  central  piece  and  with 
it  form  the  front  leg.  The  left 
strip,  instead  of  extending  to  the 
top,  however,  is  there  replaced  by 
a  broader  bit  of  hardwood  board 
five  or  six  inches  long  and  pro¬ 
jecting  forward  three  inches,  after  Flgl  213*— SIDE  view. 
which  the  projecting  edges  on  both  sides  are  sawed  off 
at  the  proper  angle  for  the  picket  points,  say  a  little 
lower  than  45  degrees. 

The  two  rear  legs  are  strips  of  lath  five  feet  long, 
fastened  near  the  top  of  the  front  leg  and  braced  so  that 


242 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


the  forward  part  is  not  quite  vertical.  A  block  or  seat 
18  inches  long  is  fastened  across  them  32  inches  from 
the  lower  end,  and  so  adjusted  as  to  hold  them  one 
foot  apart  at  the  ground.  The  clamp  by  which  the 
pickets  are  held  in  place  consists  of  a  half  cylindrical 
block  suspended  by  short  lengths  of  strap  iron  and 
connected  hy  a  wire  on  each  side  to  a  foot  lever, 
the  action  of  which  need  he  but  slight. 

Measure  from  the  bevel  at  the  top,  down  just  the 
length  the  pickets  are  to  be  made,  and  place  a  block 
transversely  in  the  groove  at  that  point,  for  the  stick  to 
rest  on.  The  groove  should  he  at  least  one-fourth  inch 
wider  than  the  pickets,  but  a  small  wedge  is  inserted  at 
the  bottom  on  the  left,  so  that  as  they  fall  into  position 
they  are  crowded  over  to  the  right  side. 

To  do  the  pointing,  first  cut  all  the  pickets  in  a  miter 
box  to  the  right  length,  and  at  the  proper  angle  to  fit  the 
water  ledge  over  the  baseboard,  then  place  one  in  the 
groove  of  the  pointer,  thrust  it  down  past  the  clamp, 
which  it  will  push  out,  till  it  reaches  the  block  at  the 
bottom.  Apply  a  little  pressure  on  the  foot  lever  to  hold 
it  in  place,  and  then,  with  a  sharp  drawing  knife,  bevel 
the  top,  keeping  the  blade  flat  on  the  guides  of  hard¬ 
wood;  lift  the  picket,  turn  one  quarter  to  the  right, 
thrust  down  and  cut  again,  and  so  on  until  it  is  finished. 
With  poplar  pickets  one  and  one-fourth  inches  square, 
I  have  seen  them  pointed  at  a  little  more  than  one  per 
minute,  which  is  certainly  much  better  than  to  lay  off 
each  one  and  cut  with  a  chisel,  as  I  have  known  a  car¬ 
penter  to  do. 


STERILIZING  OVEN  AND  BOTTLE  TRUCK. 

Both  oven  and  truck  for  milk  can  be  made  by  any  car¬ 
penter  and  tinner.  Fig  214  represents  the  sterilizing  oven. 
It  is  made  on  a  light  frame,  of  matched  lumber;  the 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


243 


inside  is  lined  with  zinc  soldered  at  the  joints.  The 
door  should  be  double,  with  beveled  edges  fitting  loosely 
and  having  felt,  rubber  or  asbestos  packing  all  around 
the  outside.  No  threshold  or  extra  floor  is  required. 
Drainage  must  be  supplied,  preferably  through  the  floor. 


Fig.  214.— STERILIZING  OVEN. 


Steam  is  introduced  by  a  row  of  jets  eight  to  12  inches 
apart  in  a  steam  pipe  laid  on  or  near  the  floor  on  the  two 
sides  and  back  and  connected  with  steam  supply,  A 
valve  just  outside  regulates  the  amount  to  be  used.  The 
pipes  at  the  end  just  inside  the  door  are  capped  so  that 
no  steam  escapes  except  at  the  short  nipples,  or  simply 


2  44 


FARM  CONVENIENCES, 


holes  drilled  in  pipe,  which  will  answer  very  well.  A 
flue  opens  out  of  the  top  of  the  oven,  made  of  tin,  three 
or  four  inches  in  diameter  and  long  enough  to  go  out  at 
the  roof.  This  flue  is  closed  by  a  damper  just  above  the 
oven;  except  after  sterilizing  it  is  opened  to  hasten  the 
cooling  and  assist  in  drying  otf  the  bottles  which  are  in¬ 
side.  Such  an  oven  is  never  to  be  used  for  the  heating  of 
milk,  but  in  it  may  profitably  be  placed  not  only  bottles, 
but  tinware,  stirrers,  faucets,  dishcloths,  in  fact,  any¬ 
thing  movable  that  comes  in  contact  with  the  milk. 

A  convenient  method  of  handling  a  large  number  of 
bottles  is  illustrated  by  fig.  215.  This  consists  of  shelves 


Fig,  215.— BOTTLE  TRUCK. 


so  arranged  that  when  the  bottles  are  placed  on  them, 
necks  inside,  they  are  inclined  sufficiently  for  the  water  to 
drain  out  of  them  readily,  and  the  dust  does  not  as 
readily  enter  them  as  it  would  if  they  were  in  an  upright 
position. 

The  truck  is  of  such  a  size  that  when  loaded  it  will 
readily  enter  the  oven  and  admit  of  the  door  being 
closed.  A  good  way  to  mount  such  a  truck  is  to  place  it 
on  two  wheels  in  the  center,  which  bear  the  entire 
weight.  The  little  wheels,  one  each  at  the  front  and 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


245 


rear,  do  not  quite  touch  the  floor  when  the  truck  is  level; 
these  latter  are  also  fixed  so  as  to  turn  around  in  a  socket 
like  a  table  caster.  Thus  rigged,  the  truck  may  be 
pushed  around  wherever  wanted  to  load  or  unload  and 
saves  a  vast  amount  of  handling  and  inevitable  breakage. 


INEXPENSIVE  BUILDING  CONSTRUCTION. 

Many  farmers  would  like  to  put  up  a  small  building 
for  some  purpose  or  other  but  are  deterred  by  the  ex¬ 
pense,  the  shingling  or  clap  boarding  of  walls  and  the 
shingling  of  the  roof  being  a  large  item  in  the  expense 
account,  both  for  labor  and  materials.  The  cut  shows  a 


Fig.  216.— BATTENED  BUILDING. 


simple  and  inexpensive  plan  that  will  give  good  satisfac¬ 
tion.  The  frame  of  the  building  is  put  up  and  covered, 
roof  and  sides,  with  red  resin-sized  building  paper 
stretched  tightly  and  lapping  so  as  to  shed  water  if  any 
should  ever  reach  the  paper.  This  costs  only  $1  per  500 
square  feet.  The  boarding  is  then  put  on,  “up-and- 
down,”  and  the  cracks  battened,  as  shown.  Cover  the 
boards  and  battens  with  a  cheap  stain  or  paint,  and  they 
will  last  for  many  years.  Such  a  building  will  not  only 
be  inexpensive  but  it  will  be  very  warm,  and  in  later 
years  can,  if  desired,  be  clapboarded  and  shingled  by 
simply  removing  the  old  battens. 


24  6 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


COVER  FOR  SAP  BUCKETS. 


A  good  cover  for  sap  buckets  may  be  made  at  a  cost  of 
less  than  one  cent  by  taking  a  wide  shingle  (a),  sawing  off 
four  inches  of  the  tip  end  and  fastening  to  it  a  small 
spring  wire,  as  shown  in  the  illustration.  The  wire  can 


Fig.  217.— COVER  FOR  SAP  BUCKETS. 


be  made  fast  to  the  shingle  by  little  staples,  or  by  using 
a  narrow  cleat  like  a  piece  of  lath.  The  wire  should  be 
about  30  inches  long  and  will  cost  less  than  half  a  cent. 
When  done,  spring  the  ends  of  wire  apart  and  it  will  hug 
the  tree  firmly. 


A  HANDY  TROUGH. 

For  watering  or  feeding  cattle  in  the  barn  a  handy 
trough  is  illustrated,  gotten  up  by  a  practical  farmer. 
It  may  be  of  any  desired  dimensions,  but  is  usually 
about  four  feet  long  and  one  and  one-half  feet  wide. 
If  built  slanting,  stock  can  eat  up  clean  any  feed  in 
it,  or  the  trough  can  be  readily  cleaned.  It  is  very  handy 
for  watering  cattle  in  winter,  as  the  trough  full  of  water 
can  be  rolled  down  in  front  of  the  cattle,  and  from  one  to 
another  as  soon  as  they  are  through  drinking.  Where 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


247 


running  water  is  handy,  it  can  be  let  into  this  tub  and 
quickly  rolled  in  front  of  the  cattle.  With  wheels  made 


Fig.  218.— A  HANDY  TROUGH. 


of  hard  wood  this  device  will  last  for  vears,  and  can  also 

•j  * 

be  used  for  a  variety  of  other  purposes  about  the  barn. 
It  is  one  of  those  handy  contrivances  that  save  labor  and 
add  to  the  pleasure  and  profit  of  farming. 

SUBSTITUTE  FOR  FLOOD  GATE. 

When  a  flood  gate  cannot  be  used,  the  device  shown  in 
the  illustration  is  very  desirable;  a  represents  the  posts  or 
trees  to  which  the  device  is  attached;  b  is  a  piece  of  iron 

g  &- 


in  the  shape  of  a  capital  L,  the  lower  end  of  which  is 
driven  into  the  post.  Further  up  is  a  small  iron  with  an 
eye  which  fits  over  the  upper  end  of  this  iron.  This 
is  driven  in  or  turned  in  after  the  poles,  c,  have  been 
placed  in  position.  It  is  best  to  make  the  poles  or  rails,  c. 
of  some  good  timber.  Use  enough  of  these  to  make  the 


<248 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


fence  or  gate  sufficiently  high.  These  swing  around  on 
the  rods  as  the  water  forces  them  apart.  When  the 
water  recedes  these  can  be  again  placed  in  position,  and 
there  is  no  loss  of  fence  material.  The  ends  are  laid  oc 
each  other,  as  in  building  up  a  rail  fence. 

HOOKS  FOR  SHOP  OR  STORE  HOUSE. 

A  handy  arrangement  for  hanging  up  articles,  as  foi 
instance,  tools  in  the  shop,  or  meats  and  other  eatables  ir 
the  storeroom,  is  shown  in  the  accompanying  sketch. 
This  plan  is  particularly  to  be  commended  where  it  is  de¬ 
sired  to  get  the  articles  up  out  of  the  reach  of  mice,  rats 


or  cats.  Suspend  a  worn-out  buggy  wheel  to  the  ceiling 
by  an  iron  bolt,  with  a  screw  thread  on  one  end  and 
a  nut  or  head  upon  the  other.  The  wheel  can  be  hung  as 
high  or  as  low  as  desired.  Hooks  can  be  placed  all  about 
the  rim  and  upon  the  spokes,  in  the  manner  shown, 
giving  room  in  a  small  space  for  the  hanging  up  of  a 
great  many  articles.  This  arrangement  is  convenient, 
also,  from  the  fact  that  one  can  swing  the  wheel  about 
and  bring  all  articles  within  reach  without  moving. 

IMPROVING  A  PASTURE  SPRING. 

The  average  pasture  spring  is  apt  to  be  a  mud  hole 
because  not  protected  from  the  cattle’s  feet.  Where 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


240 


a  spring  is  to  furnish  the  sole  supply  of  water  for  a 
pasture  year  after  year,  it  is  worth  while  to  make  the 
most  of  it.  If  there  is  an  old  iron  kettle  with  a  break  in 
the  bottom,  it  can  be  utilized  after  the  fashion  shown  in 


Fig.  221.— A  SPRING  WALLED  UP. 


tho  eut,  provided  the  source  of  the  spring  is  a  little 
higher  than  the  point  where  it  issues  from  the  ground. 
With  rough  stones  and  cement,  build  a  water-tight  wall 
about  the  spring,  setting  the  rocks  well  down  into  the 
ground.  Set  the  kettle  with  the  opening  in  the  bottom, 
so  that  the  water  will  rise  to  its  top.  A  pure  supply  will 
thus  always  be  at  hand  for  the  stock  and  a  permanent 
improvement  made  to  the  pasture. 


A  GENERAL  FARM  BARN. 

The  ground  plan  shown  in  the  illustration,  fig.  222, 
provides  sufficient  stable  room  for  ten  cows,  three 
horses,  and  a  box  stall,  besides  a  corn  crib  and  a  tool 
house.  These  are  all  on  the  first  floor.  The  building  is 
40x30,  with  a  feed  way  running  through  the  middle  four 
feet  wide.  The  building  can  be  made  any  desired  hight, 
but  20-foot  posts  are  usually  most  desirable.  On  the 


250 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


second  floor  is  space  for  hay,  sheaf  oats,  corn  fodder 
or  other  coarse  food.  There  should  also  be  on  the  second 
floor  a  bin  for  oats  or  ground  feed.  This  is  spouted 
down  to  the  feed  way,  where  it  can  be  easily  given  out. 


The  corn  crib,  of  course,  can  be  divided,  if  it  is  thought 
necessary,  so  that  ground  feed  can  be  kept  in  a  portion  of 
it.  There  are  plenty  of  windows  in  front  and  back, 
so  that  the  building  is  well  lighted.  This  barn  can  be 
built  cheaply,  and  is  large  enough  for  a  small  dairy  farm. 

HANDY  CLOD  CRUSHER  AND  LEVELER. 

One  who  has  not  tried  it  would  be  surprised  to  find 
how  much  execution  the  device  shown  in  the  cut  will  ac- 


Fig.  223.— CLOD  CRUSHER. 

complish.  Insert  a  narrow  plank  in  front  of  the  rear 
teeth  of  an  A  harrow,  and  the  land  will  be  harrowed, 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


251 


the  lumps  crushed  and  the  surface  leveled,  at  one  opera¬ 
tion.  One  can  also,  by  stepping  on  and  off  the  cross¬ 
piece,  drag  earth  from  knolls  and  deposit  it  in  depres¬ 
sions,  thus  grading  the  land  very  nicely. 


GIVING  SEEDS  AN  EARLY  START  IN  THE  GARDEN. 

The  ground  is  often  cold  when  the  seed  is  put  into  the 
garden  plot.  To  get  the  earliest  vegetables,  have  a  few 
boxes  without  bottoms  and  with  a  sliding  pane  of  glass 


for  a  top,  as  shown  in  the  cut.  Let  the  top  slope  toward 
the  sun.  Shut  the  slide  entirely  until  the  plant  breaks 
ground,  then  ventilate  as  one  would  in  a  hotbed,  as  sug¬ 
gested  in  the  right-hand  sketch.  A  few  such  boxes  will 
make  some  of  the  garden  products  ten  days  earlier — 
worth  trying  for. 


A  POST  ANCHOR. 

Where  temporary  wire  fences  are  used  to  any  consider¬ 
able  extent,  the  corner  or  end  posts  may  be  anchored, 
as  shown  in  the  illustration.  The  large  rock,  a,  is  sunk 
into  the  ground  as  deep  as  the  post  is  placed  and  the 
earth  is  solidly  trampled  above  it.  Place  the  wire 
around  the  stone  before  it  is  put  into  the  ground,  then 
pass  it  around  the  top  of  the  post.  By  using  a  stick,  b, 
the  wire  can  be  tightened  if  there  is  any  tendency  to 
become  loose.  To  move  the  fence,  loosen  the  lower 
strand  from  the  posts.  Begin  at  one  end  and  make  a 
coil  about  two  feet  across.  Boll  this  on  the  ground, 


252 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


crossing  and  recrossing  the  strand  of  wire  with  the  roll, 
about  every  foot  of  length  on  the  strand.  The  barbs 
will  hold  it  and  keep  the  roll  together.  When  the  roll  is 
as  large  as  is  convenient  to  handle,  cut  the  wire  and 
begin  again.  When  replacing,  fasten  one  end  to  the  post 


where  the  top  wire  is  to  stay  and  roll  along  the  ground 
close  to  the  posts.  Follow  with  the  second  one  a  little 
further  off,  and  then  the  third.  Experience  has  proved 
to  me  that  this  is  the  easiest,  quickest  and  best  plan 
to  remove  wire  fence,  as  after  some  practice  it  can  be 
done  quickly. 


STONEBOAT  FROM  TWO  BOARDS. 

Most  of  the  stoneboats  in  use  are  made  with  run¬ 
ners.  I  prefer  to  secure  two  boards  the  length  desired 
for  the  boat,  about  15  inches  wide  .  and  three  inches 
thick.  I  then  measure  12  inches  on  top  of  the  board  and 
18  inches  on  the  opposite  side,  as  shown  in  fig.  1.  Saw 
through  on  the  dotted  line,  turn  the  end  of  the  board 
over  and  with  four  bolts  fasten  it  as  shown  in  fig.  2. 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


253 


Do  this  with  both  boards,  place  them  side  by  side  and 
fasten  with  strong  crosspieces.  This  makes  a  good  boat, 


a 


and  in  my  experience  is  more  desirable  than  any  other 
kind.  They  can  not  only  be  used  for  hauling  about  the 
place,  but  are  excellent  for  breaking  roads  during  the 
winter.  _ 

A  HANDY  GARDEN  BARROW. 

A  great  improvement  on  the  ordinary  garden  wheel¬ 
barrow  is  shown  in  the  cut.  The  wheels  have  broad 


Fig.  227.— IMPROVED  BARROW. 

tires,  are  light  and  run  beneath  the  body — just  in  the 
position  to  balance  the  load  when  the  handles  are  raised. 


254 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


This  barrow  can  be  damped  from  the  side,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  ordinary  barrow.  It  is  thus  possible  to  make 
over  one  of  the  old-fashioned  wheelbarrows  into  the  style 
shown,  and  that,  too,  at  but  small  trouble  and  expense. 


HOMEMADE  TRUCKS  AND  WHEELS. 

Low  trucks  are  constantly  of  service  on  the  farm. 
Now  it  is  a  feed  car  for  the  barn,  or  a  two- wheel  barrow 


for  the  garden,  or  it  may  be  that  low  wheels  are  needed 
for  one  end  of  a  crate  for  moving  sheep  or  hogs.  The 
cut  shows  how  to  make  any  of  them.  With  a  “key¬ 
hole  ”  saw  cut  circles  from  inch  boards  and  screw  them 
together  with  the  grain  at  right  angles,  as  shown.  Two- 
inch  hoop  iron  binds  the  edges  and  keeps  them  from 
splitting.  Large  iron  washers  help  to  hold  such  wheels 
firmly  in  place  on  the  axles. 


A  ROLLER  FROM  MOWING  MACHINE  WHEELS. 
Cast-off  mowing  machine  wheels  may  be  utilized  very 
readily  for  making  a  land  roller.  Use  narrow  strips 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


255 


of  plank  with  slightly  beveled  edges,  putting  them 
around  the  wheels  in  the  manner  shown  in  the  cut. 


Fig.  229.— SIDE  VIEW. 


making  slots  in  the  planks  to  fit  the  cogs  on  the  rims  of 
the  wheels.  These  strips  are  held  firmly  in  place  by 
“ shrinking  on”  two  iron  hoops  at  the  ends,  as  shown. 
The  frame  is  attached  in  the  usual  manner. 


MAKING  A  PICKET  FENCE  HEN-TIGHT. 

On  many  farms  the  hens  could  be  given  free  range  if 
the  garden  fence  were  a  sufficient  barrier  to  the  fowls. 
The  cut  shows  a  picket  fence  with  a  picket  extending 
upward  for  fifteen  inches  every  twelve  feet.  To  these 
extended  ends  of  the  pickets  is  stretched  a  twelve-inch 


Fig.  230— PICKET  FENCE. 


strip  of  wire  netting,  as  shown  in  the  sketch.  In  the 
prominence  of  the  pickets  the  fowls  do  not  clearly  notice 
the  netting  until  they  fly  against  it.  After  a  few  trials 


256 


FARM  CONVENIENCES. 


they  will  give  up  the  attempt  to  fly  over.  Poultry  yard 
fence  can  be  constructed  in  this  way,  using  ordinary 
pickets,  and  above  them  any  needed  width  of  netting, 
according  as  the  fowls  are  Brahmas,  Plymouth  Hocks  or 
Leghorns. 


BARREL  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

Probably  many  readers  have  heard  of  the  plan  of 
raising  strawberries  on  the  outside  of  a  barrel.  If  one 
has  only  a  small  city  or  village  lot,  or  “  back  yard,”  the 

experiment  is  well  worth  trying. 
The  accompanying  illustration 
shows  one  or  two  wrinkles  that 
may  help  make  the  experiment  a 
success.  First  bore  the  holes  all 
about  the  barrel,  then  put  inside 
a  drain  pipe  made  of  four  strips 
of  board,  reaching  from  the  top 
to  the  bottom.  The  joints  should 
not  be  tight.  Now  fill  in’ earth 
about  the  pipe  and  set  out  the 
Fig.  23i.— view  of  barrel,  strawberry  plants  in  all  the  holes 

and  over  the  top.  Put  the  barrel  on  a  bit  of  plank,  on 
the  bottom  of  which  wide  casters  have  been  screwed. 
The  barrel  can  then  turned  about  every  few  days  to 
bring  the  sun  to  all  the  plants.  An  ordinary  flour 
barrel  will  answer  very  well  for  trying  this  interesting 
experiment. 


FARM  APPLIANCES 


A  PRACTICAL  MANUAL. 


EDITED  BY 

GEORGE  A.  MARTIN. 


NEARLY  TWO  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


NEW  YORK'. 

ORANGE  JUDD  COMPANY* 

1907 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1887,  by  the 

O.  JUDD  CO., 

la  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


INTRODUCTION. 


- *c>«  - 

Inventive  talent  has  completely  revolutionized  the 
processes  of  farming.  The  work  which  required  the 
labor  of  many,  under  primitive  methods,  is  now  better 
done  by  one  person  with  the  aid  of  improved  appliances. 
To  explain  and  illustrate  some  of  the  most  practical 
and  easily  made  appliances  is  the  object  of  this  volume. 
They  are  such  as  secure  greater  comfort  to  domestic 
animals,  provide  supplies  of  wholesome  water,  economize 
labor  and  assist  in  dispatching  much  of  the  important 
work  on  the  farm.  The  hints  and  suggestions  herein 
contained  are  the  result  of  practical  experience.  It  is 
believed  that  every  farmer,  gardener,  householder,  in 
fact  every  one  interested  in  labor-saving  contrivances, 
will  find  very  much  of  interest  and  value  in  this  volume. 


(3) 


'  '  [i  -  7  Ur.:  1 


TABLE  OP  CONTENTS 


Chapter  I. 

Racks,  Mangers,  Stanchions  and  Troughs . .  7-  34 

Racks  and  Feed-Boxes  for  Horses ;  Covered  Horse 
Manger  ;  Feeding  Trough  and  Hay-Shute  :  Device  for 
Box-Stall;  Feed  Box  for  Extra  Stall;  Various  Cattle 
Stanchions  ;  Feeding  Crib  for  Pork  Producing  Sections  ; 
Sheep-Rack  and  Feed  Box  ;  A  Barrel  Rack";  Improve¬ 
ments  in  Pig  Troughs  ;  A  Plank  Trough  ;  A  Protected 
Trough  ;  Troughs  for  the  Pasture  ;  Improved  Grain  Bin  ; 

Straw  Baler  ;  Watering  Troughs  for  Stock  ;  A  Guarded 
Horse  Trough  ;  Box  for  Watering  Pails ;  Home-Made 
Heating  Vat. 

Chapter  II. 

Vehicles,  Rollers,  Harrows  and  Markers _ _ _  35-  56 

A  Cart  for  Breaking  Colts  ;  A  Home-Made  Cart ;  Ap¬ 
paratus  for  Lifting  a  Wagon-Body  ;  Jack  for  Wagon 
Box  ;  Serviceable  Wagon  Jacks ;  Adjustable  Wagon 
Seat ;  Lubricating  Axles  ;  A  Light  Sleigh  or  “  Jumper”; 

A  Substantial  Sled ;  A  Dump  Sled  ;  A  Triple  Land 
Roller ;  A  Cheaper  Triple  Roller ;  A  Double  Land 
Roller  ;  Stalk  Leveler  ;  Useful  Clod  Crusher  ;  A  Brush 
Harrow  ;  An  Improved  Harrow  Frame  ;  Land  Markers  ; 
Combined  Marker  and  Clod-Crusher  ;  A  Land  Leveler. 

Chapter  III. 

Small  Tools  and  Appliances . . . .  57-  82 

Bag  Holders  ;  Handling  Potatoes  j  Grindstones  and 
Frames  ;  Tool  Holder  ;  How  to  Repair  a  Grindstone  ;  A 
Wooden  Manger  Fork ;  Home-Made  and  Useful  Chaff 
Forks  ;  Stable  Scraper  and  Broom  •  A  Straw  or  Hay 
Hook  ;  Fork  for  Handling  Stones  ;  Salt  Box  for  Stock  ; 

Safety  Single-Tree  ;  Root  Pulpers  and  Cutters ;  Root 
Washers  ;  Clamps  and  Stool  for  Repairing  Harness  ;  A 
Box  Saw-Horse  ;  Long  Saw-Bucks  ;  How  to  Tie  a  Bag; 

A  Home-Made  Rake  Head ;  Working  Building  Stone  ; 

Block  for  Sand-Paper. 

Chapter  IV. 

Appliances  for  the  Bam,  Pasture  and  Dairy . . .  82-  97 

Convenient  Stable  Ventilator  ;  Light  needed  in  Bams  ; 
Lanterns  in  the  Barn  ;  Safety  Stick  for  Mare’s  Halter  ; 

To  Keep  a  Horse  from  Jumping ;  Coupling  Horses  in 
the  Pasture  ;  A  Simple  Tether ;  Chain  Cattle  Tie  ;  An 
Unpatented  Calf-Feeder  ;  Two  Kinds  of  Milking  Stools  ; 

Vat  for  Deep-Setting  Milk;  Home-Made  Butter  Worker ; 

A  Convenience  for  Fly  Time  ;  Reins  for  Driving  Oxen  ; 

Vat  for  Dipping  Sheep  ;  Sheep-Shearing  Bench  ;  Ear 
Tag  Punch  for  Marking  Animals  ;  Sewing  up  Wounds  in 
Animals, 

00 


VI 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Chapter  V. 

Wells,  Pumps,  Cisterns  and  Filters. _ _ _ 

Windlass  and  Tilting  Bucket ;  Well-Curb  or  Staves  ; 
Hemlock  for  Well-Curbs;  Securing  the  Well-Bucket; 
Curb  with  a  Bucket  Shelf ;  Covered  Well-Curbs  ;  Im- 

Sure  Water  in  W’ells  ;  Hook  for  Cleaning  Wells ;  A 
on-Freezing  Pump  :  Agitation  of  Air  in  Wells  ;  Deep¬ 
ening  Wells  ;  Digging  a  \Vell ;  How  to  Build  a  Cistern  ; 
Water  in  the  Barnyard  ;  Wooden  Water  Pipes  ;  Filters 
for  Family  Use ;  Connecting  Cisterns  ;  Build  and  Dimen¬ 
sion  of  Cisterns  ;  Cisterns  with  Filters. 

Chapter  VI. 

Appliances  for  Handling  Hay  and  Corn  Fodder . . 

Revolving  Horse  Rake  ;  Care  of  Mowing  Machines ; 
Sweep  for  Gathering  Hay  ;  Hauling  Hay  or  Stalks  ;  Der¬ 
rick  for  Stacking ;  Hay  Carrier  for  Horse  Fork  ;  Hay 
Barracks ;  Supports  for  Stacks ;  Home-Made  Hay 
Press  ;  Twisting  Hay  and  Straw' ;  Standard  for  Corn 
Shocks;  Ventilator  for  Stacks;  Bench  for  Husking; 
Corn-Stalk  Band  ;  Convenient  Fodder  Carrier. 

Chapter  VII. 

Stump-Pullers,  Derricks  and  Slings - - 

Stump-Pullers  ;  Derricks  for  Farm  Use  ;  Slings  for 
Hoisting  Heavy  Objects ;  Derrick  for  a  Cellar ;  Lever 
Apparatus  for  Lifting  ;  A  Home-Made  Horse-Power. 

Chapter  VIII. 

Preparing  and  Handling  Fertilizers. . . . . 

Hauling  Barnyard  Manure  ;  Implement  for  Fining 
Manure  ;  Muck  and  Peat ;  How  to  Burn  Lime;  Value 
of  Gas  Lime  ;  Burning  Clay  and  Sods  ;  Converting 
Stiaw  into  Manure;  Manure  from  Marl  aBd  Shells; 
Making  Fertilizer  from  Bones. 

Chapter  IX. 

Appliances  for  the  Garden  and  Orchard . . . . 

Paper  Plant  Protector  ;  Muslin-Covered  Plant  Screen  ; 
Protected  Plant  Label ;  Poles  for  Beans  and  other 
Climbers  ;  Potting  Strawberry  Plants  ;  Stand  for  Berry 
Baskets;  Tube  for  Watering  Plants;  Movable  Trellis 
for  Grapes  ;  Tool  for  Cutting  Edgings  ;  Substitute  for 
Pea  Brush  ;  Trellis  for  Tomatoes ;  Tools  for  Killing 
W'eeds  ;  Various  Fruit  Pickers  ;  Frait  Ladders  ;  Japan¬ 
ese  Pruning  Saw  ;  Rabbits  and  Mice  in  the  Orchard ; 
Implements  Used  in  Cranberry  Culture. 

Chapter  X. 

Appliances  for  Slaughtering  Hogs  and  Curing  the  Meat - 

Sticking  Hogs ;  A  Better  Way ;  Heating  the  Water 
for  Scalding ;  Scalding  Tubs  and  Vats;  Hanging  and 
Cleaning  the  Hogs  ;  Packing  Pork. 


97-121 


121-143 


144-154 


154-165 


165-184 


184-192 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

RACKS,  MANGERS,  STANCHIONS  AND  TROUGHS. 
RACKS  AND  FEED  BOXES  FOR  HORSES. 

There  are  various  forms  of  racks,  mangers  and  feed- 
boxes  for  horses.  One  of  the  worst  devices  is  the  old- 


Fig.  1.— FEEDING  RACK  FOR  HORSES. 

fashioned  liay-rack,  extending  from  the  manger  high 
above  the  head  of  the  horses,  which  are  compelled  to 
reach  up  for  their  hay.  This  is  a  most  unnatural  posi¬ 
tion  for  a  horse,  which  does  not,  when  out  of  the 
stable,  take  its  food  like  a  giraffe  from  trees,  but 
from  the  ground.  Aside  from  this,  a  high  rack  causes 
the  double  peril  of  getting  dust  into  the  lungs  and  other 
objects  into  the  eyes  of  the  horses.  The  above  en- 


8 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


graving  shows  an  arrangement  for  hay  and  cut  feed,  or 
dry  grain,  which  prevents  waste,  and  is  very  convenient 
for  the  horse  and  its  owne^.  The  manger  extends  across 
the  whole  stall  (a  single  one)  and  is  reached  through  a 
falling  door  in  the  feeding  passage.  The  hay  box  goes 
to  the  bottom,  and  has  a  barred  door,  through  which  the 
waste  chaff  may  be  removed,  if  it  does  not  work  out.  The 
feed-box  is  protected  by  a  barred  cover,  made  of  half-inch 
round  iron,  having  spaces  through  which  the  horse  can 
feed;  but  the  bars  prevent  him  from  throwing  out  the 
feed  or  grain,  in  the  attempt  to  pick  out  the  best.  The 
halter  is  run  through  a  hole  in  the  top  of  the  manger,  or 
a  ring  bolt  in  the  side  of  the  stall,  and  has  a  block  of 
wood  at  the  end,  by  the  weight  of  which  it  is  kept  drawn 
tight,  leaving  no  slack  for  the  horse  to  get  entangled 
with.  When  the  horses  are  fed,  the  feeding  door  is  shut 
and  fastened  by  a  button. 


COVERED  HORSE  MAHGER. 

Horses  will  get  their  heads  to  the  bottom  of  the  hay 


Fig.  2.— IMPROVED  HORSE  MANGER. 

manger  if  they  can,  and  will  often  throw  the  hay  out, 
if  not  prevented.  The  illustration,  figure  2,  is  taken 


RACKS,  MANGERS,  STANCHIONS,  ETC. 


Aom  a  stable,  in  which  such  annoyance  is  easily  and 
simply  prevented.  A  rack  of  iron  rods,  or  of  wood,  is 
made  and  hinged  to  the  top  of  the  manger  in  front,  so 
that  it  may  be  thrown  up  and  over  the  front  when  the 
manger  is  filled,  and  then  turned  down  upon  the  hay. 
The  bars  or  rods  are  just  far  enough  apart  for  the  horse 
to  get  his  nose  through  to  the  hay,  but  of  course,  he  can¬ 
not  get  his  head  through.  Iron  is  better  than  wood,  be¬ 
cause  the  horse  cannot  gnaw  upon  it.  The  bottom  of 
every  manger  should  be  slatted,  to  let  the  hay  seed  and 
dust  fall  through — thus  averting  a  frequent  source  of 
cough  and  heaves  in  horses. 

—  •<>♦-  — 


FEEDING  TROUGH  AND  HAY  SHTTTE. 


To  prevent  waste  of  grain  and  hay,  the  trough  and  hay 
manger  may  be  made  as  shown  in  the  engravings  here 


given.  The  grain  box  (figure  3)  is  fixed  in  the  front  of 
the  stall,  a  part  of  it  projecting  through  the  partition, 
into  the  feed  passage,  where  there  is  a  lifting  hinged 
cover.  The  trough,  of  course,  opens  into  the  stall.  In 


10 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


the  center  of  the  trough  there  is  an  upright  division, 
open  only  for  an  inch  or  two,  through  which  the  grain 
or  meal  slides  down  little  by  little  into  the  front  division,, 
The  hay  shute  is  shown  at  figure  4.  It  comes  from 
the  floor  above,  where  it  has  a  hinged  cover,  which,  if  de¬ 
sired,  is  left  open  for  ventilation.  It  increases  in  width 
downwards,  to  prevent  the  hay  from  lodging.  The  front 
is  provided  with  small  iron  bars,  to  prevent  the  horse 
from  pulling  out  the  hay  and  thus  causing  loss.  The 
bottom  should  be  slatted,  to  allow  the  escape  of  dust. 


DEVICE  FOR  BOX  STALL. 

For  valuable  animals  it  is  best  to  have  loose  box-stalls. 
A  range  of  such  stalls  can  be  built  very  cheaply,  and  as 


Fig;.  5. — FEED  BOX  AND  HAT  BACK  IN  BOX  STALL. 

the  occupants  need  not  be  fastened,  they  can  be  quickly 
let  out  of  the  building  in  case  of  fire.  The  feeding 
arrangement  for  such  stalls  is  shown  at  figure  5.  It 
consists  of  a  hay-rack  in  the  corner,  with  a  feed  box  near 
it.  At  the  front  of  the  feed  box  there  is  a  falling  door 
in  the  partition,  through  which,  when  it  is  half  let  down 
in  a  sloping  position,  the  feed  of  grain,  or  the  cut  feed, 
may  be  placed  in  the  hox.  The  same  arrangement  may 
be  used  for  the  hay-rack,  if  the  front  is  boarded  up  to 
the  top  ;  but  if  it  is  boarded  only  for  five  feet,  the  hay 
may  be  lifted  over  the  top  of  it  from  the  feeding  passage. 


RACKo,  MANGERS,  STANCHIONS,  ETC. 


FEED-BOX  FOR  EXTRA  STALL. 

There  are  times  when  the  arrival  of  friends  or  other 
event  calls  for  an  extra  stall.  To  provide  for  such 
emergencies,  a  feed  box,  and  the  way  to  use  it,  are  shown 
in  the  engravings,  figures  6  and  7.  The  trough, 
figure  6,  is  useful  anywhere,  it  being  a  “  fencetrough” 
or  feed  box.  Upright  pieces  with  mortises  are  made 
of  inch  stuff,  and  nailed  on  each  side  of  the  passage-way. 
Two  by  three-inch  bars  are  used,  entering  into  mortises 
on  one  side  and  dropping  into  slots  on  the  other,  the 
middle  bar  being  keyed  in.  The  upper  bar  is  kept  in 


Fig.  6. — FENCE  FEED  BOX. 


plao  >  by  a  swinging  key  put  on  the  partition  with  a  stout 
screw,  and  given  a  little  play,  so  that  it  will  drop  by  its 
own  weight  into  its  proper  position.  The  feed  box  is 
made  as  in  figure  6,  with  elongated  sides  extending 
through  and  beyond  the  rails  or  bars,  with  notches  to  re¬ 
ceive  the  bars  as  indicated,  made  by  nailing  the  pieces  at 
the  extreme  ends  across  from  side  to  side,  as  shown. 
The  box  being  put  on  the  lowest  bar,  close  to  the  end  of 
it,  -md  the  middle  bar  being  placed  in  position  and  keyed, 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


IV 


secures  it.  When  the  box  is  not  in  use,  it  is  kept  in  the 
harness  closet  with  the  two  lower  ba  s.  The  top  bar  is 


Fig.  7.— STALL  IN  PASSAGE-WAY. 


generally  left  in  place,  to  prevent  horses,  that  might  get 
loose,  going  into  the  carriage  house. 


VARIOUS  CATTLE  STANCHIONS. 

In  the  engraving  figure  8,  one  of  the  stanchions  is 
shown  open,  and  the  other  two  closed.  The  pieces  d,  e, 
f ,  g,  and  h ,  are  immovable,  a,  b,  c,  being  the  movable 
stanchions.  The  device  consists  of  three  strips,  two 
inches  wide,  and  three  quarter  inch  thick,  fastened  to 
one  upright  piece  by  means  of  two  bolts,  d  and  b;  the 
length  of  the  strip  is  regulated  by  the  distance  between 
the  stanchions.  Bolts  are  also  used  at  a  and  cf  the  bolt 


HACKS,  makcers,  stakohiohs,  etc.  1*3 

at  c  passing  through  a  small  block,  two  inches  thick, 
which  assists  in  moving  the  upright  piece.  A  similar 
block,  e ,  is  also  placed  on  the  movable  stanchion,  upon 
which  the  block  at  c  rests  when  the  stanchion  is  closed. 

The  fastening  /,  and  the  piece  c,  are  so  arranged  as  to 
fall  in  place  at  the  same  time.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
animal  not  only  fastens  herself  in  place,  but  she  is  doubly 
secured  by  the  pieces  /  and  c.  (The  block  at  e  may 
be  omitted  if  desired,  and  the  device  be  used  with  the 


Fig.  8.— SELF-CLOSING  CATTLE  STANCHION. 


fastening/ only).  A  badly  hooked  cow  is  often  the  re¬ 
sult  of  careless  hired  men,  and  such  carelessness  is  obvi¬ 
ated  by  the  use  of  the  above  arrangement.  A  cow  takes 
her  place  in  the  open  stanchion,  and  in  trying  to  get  at 
the  feed  below,  presses  against  the  lever  a,  brings  c  to 
place,  and  closes  the  stanchion. 

The  engraving,  figure  9,  shows  how  every  farmer 
vho  uses  stanchions  can  arrange  to  close  all  the  cows  in 
at  the  same  time.  The  two-inch  strip  g ,  is  planed  on  all 
‘tildes,  and  made  to  move  easily  in  the  loops  e,  d ,  which 
are  of  heavy  galvanized  iron,  bent  below  so  as  to  allow 
the  strip  to  slide,  and  are  attached  to  the  immovable 
stanchions  by  screws.  The  hard  wood  pins  a,  £,  c ,  ex¬ 
tend  about  two  inches  through,  so  as  to  catch  the  mova¬ 
ble  stanchions.  A  lever  is  fixed  at  h,  and  attached  to  the 
movable  strip.  This  device  is  comparatively  inexpensive, 


14 


EAKM  APPLIANCES. 


and  can  be  attached  to  all  kinds  of  movable  stanchions, 
generally  used  for  fastening  cows.  Even  after  it  is  put 
on  the  stanchions,  it  need  not  be  used  unless  desired.  It 
has  the  advantage  in  being  separate  from  every  stanchion. 
One,  two,  or  more  animals  may  be  closed  in  by  hand  and 
the  balance  with  this  device.  It  in  no  way  interferes 


Fig-  9.— DEVICE  FOR  CLOSING  CATTLE  STANCHIONS. 


with  the  necks  of  the  cows,  and  saves  a  great  many  steps. 
If  a  person  reaches  over  m  front  of  the  cows,  to  close 
them  in  by  hand,  he  is  in  danger  of  being  struck  in  the 
face  with  a  horn.  The  above  device  removes  this  dan¬ 
ger.  It  is  simple  and  cheap. 

The  use  of  permanent  neck-chains,  locked  on  around 
the  necks  of  breeding  animals  and  young  blooded  stock, 
affords  an  excellent  means  of  fastening  the  animals  in 
their  stalls.  A  chain  and  snap  are  attached  to  the  stall, 
by  which,  the  snap  being  caught  into  the  ring  of  the 
neck  chain,  the  animals  are  fastened.  A  better  way  is 
shown  in  the  accompanying  sketch  of  a  cow  stable.  Two 
round  stanchions  are  placed  three  feet  apart  for  each 
stall,  and  are  the  only  indications  of  subdivisions  or 
stalls  in  the  stable.  A  chain  about  eighteen  inches  long 


HACKS  MANGERS,  STANCHIONS,  ETC. 


15 


having  a  snap  at  one  end,  is  attached  by  a  ring  to  each 
stanchion.  Both  chains  are  made  fast  to  the  ring  in  the 
“  necklace,”  and  should  have  very  little  slack.  If  the 
stanchions  are  of  hard  wood,  and  smooth,  the  rings  will  / 
slide  easily  up  and  down,  but  should  not  come  within  a 


foot  of  the  floor.  The  cows  will  have  free  motion  of  the 
head  to  either  side,  can  lie  down  and  get  up  easily,  hut 
have  very  little  motion  forward  and  back,  hence  will 
keep  on  the  platform  and  keep  clean.  They  are  besides 
kept  perfectly  devoted  each  to  her  own  affairs,  as  she 
cannot  reach  over  to  either  neighbor,  to  quarrel  or  to 
steal  her  forage. 

The  chief  objection  to  the  stanchion  comes  from  its 
rigidity  and  vice-like  grip,  and  any  improvement  in  it 
should  be  in  the  direction  of  comfort  to  the  animal,  rath¬ 
er  than  in  handier  ways  of  fastening.  The  accompany¬ 
ing  engraving  shows  how  +he  rigid  plan  of  the  neck 
latches  can  be  in  part  avoided.  The  greatest  discomfort 


16 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


to  stock,  when  stanchioned,  comes  when  lying  down. 
When  standing,  there  is  freedom  of  movement,  but  when 
the  animal  is  down  and  attempts  to  rise,  it  is  held  fast. 
Stanchions  made  as  here  shown,  avoid  this.  The  neck- 
latches  a,  b,  are  not  fastened  at  the  bottom,  but  pass 
through  the  side  block  c,  which  rests  on  the  lower  stringer. 
By  making  this  side  block  about  eight  inches  shorter 
than  the  space  between  the  uprights  d  and  c,  a  swinging 
motion  is  obtained  that  gives  considerable  freedom.  The 
bolt  through  the  neck  latch  a ,  in  the  upper  stringer, 


Fig.  11. — STANCHION  FOB  DAIET  COWS. 


should  not  be  screwed  up  snug,  but  leave  the  latch  a 
chance  to  play.  It  is  usually  the  plan  to  set  stanchions 
in  a  perpendicular  position,  and  if  the  upper  stringer  is 
pitched  over  against  the  manger  about  eight  inches,  a 
great  gain  is  made  in  the  ease  afforded  the  animal  when 
it  gets  up,  as  its  shoulder  by  this  plan  does  not  strike 
squarely  against  the  latches,  and  avoids  the  necessity  of 
“  hitching  back, ”  to  clear  the  stanchions,  and  thus  pre¬ 
vents  the  extra  strain  and  exertion  often  noticed  in  per¬ 
fectly  rigid,  and  upright  stanchions. 


HACKS,  MANNERS,  STAKCEtJOKS,  ETC. 


11 


FEEDING  CRIB  FOR  PORK-PRODUCING  SECTIONS. 

To  construct  the  crib  shown  in  the  illustration,  four 
forked  posts  are  set  in  the  ground  at  the  corners  of  a 
nine  foot  square.  In  the  forks  are  placed  stout  poles 
and  on  these  are  laid  the  floor  and  is  built  the  crib.  The 
posts  make  the  pen  high  enough  for  the  swine  to  pass 
under  it  ;  hence,  any  corn  that  falls  through  it  is  eaten. 
The  feeding  floor  is  laid  under  and  around  the  pen.  In 
the  greatest  pork  producing  sections,  nearly  all  the  hogs 
are  fattened  from  October  1st  to  January  1st,  the  corn 


being  fed  to  the  hogs  as  it  is  husked.  In  the  pen  shown 
fifty  to  one  hundred  bushels  can  be  thrown — enough  to 
feed  for  two  or  three  days- — when  it  is  desired  to  do  other 
work.  It  is  an  easy  matter  to  throw  the  corn  from  the 
crib  to  the  feeding  floor,  and  as  the  corn  will  never  re¬ 
main  in  the  crib  longer  than  a  week,  no  roof  is  required. 
Set  the  posts  solidly  in  the  ground,  for  if  the  weight  of 
the  corn  should  cause  the  crib  to  fall,  it  would  kill  any 
fat  hogs  that  might  be  under  it.  The  hogs  cannot  pos¬ 
sibly  get  into  this  crib.  Rats  cannot  infest  it.  The  mate¬ 
rials  exist  on  nearly  every  farm,  and  any  farmer  can  make 
this  crib  and  in  a  short  time 


18 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


SHEEP  RACK  AND  FEED-BOX. 

It  is  often  inconvenient  to  go  among  the  sheep  in  feed¬ 
ing  them,  and  there  is  always  trouble  from  scattering 
hay  or  feed  about  the  enclosure  or  from  the  animals 
getting  out  by  the  open  doors  or  gates.  Figure  13 
shows  how  to  feed  from  outside.  The  boarding  of  the 
pen  for  about  eighteen  inches  in  width,  and  about  six 


Fig.  13. — FEED-BOX  FOR  SHEEP. 


inches  from  the  floor  is  removed,  leaving  the  bottom 
board  in  place.  Then  upright  slats  are  nailed  across  this 
aperture  inside  the  fold,  allowing  twenty  to  twenty-four 
inches  for  each  sheep.  The  slats  should  be  nailed  so  that 
an  opening  eight  inches  wide  is  left  in  the  centre  of  this 
space  for  the  sheep  to  thrust  their  heads  through.  If 
much  narrower  they  will  rub  the  wool  off  their  necks. 

A  tight  feed-box  with  flat  bottom  and  upright  sides  is 
made  of  boards,  and  placed  on  the  floor  outside  of  and 
against  the  slats,  and  fastened  in  place.  A  horizontal 
swing  door,  two  feet  wide  and  the  length  of  the  feed 
trough,  is  attached  with  hinges  to  the  outside  upper  edge 
of  the  feed  box.  Chains  keep  it  from  falling  below  a 


HACKS,  MAHGERS,  STAXCHIOXS,  ETC.  19 

proper  angle,  and  a  button  at  the  top  secures  it  when 
closed.  The  swing  door  will  keep  the  hay  always  in 
reach.  With  this  arrangement  one  can  feed  either  hay, 
turnips  or  grain  without  going  among  the  sheep,  distrib¬ 
uting  it  much  more  easily  than  when  they  are  crowding 
round  him.  He  can  also  clean  out  the  rack  and  feed  box 
conveniently  from  the  outside.  The  sheep  cannot  crowd 
each  other  when  eating.  When  they  are  through  eating, 
or  when  the  rack  is  not  in  use,  it  may  be  closed  up,  shut¬ 
ting  off  drafts  or  keeping  out  dogs.  It  is  desirable  to 
have  such  an  arrangement  open  under  ashed,  building  or 
other  protected  spot,  which  can  generally  be  provided. 
It  will  be  found  that  sheep  waste  much  less  fodder  and 
feed  than  when  fed  off  the  ground.  The  feed  trough  may 
be  changed  so  as  to  come  inside  the  fold,  and  the  rack 


Fig.  14. — BARREL  RACK. 


made  so  the  sheep  can  put  only  their  noses  through  bat 
it  makes  the  trough  inconvenient  to  reach,  and  will 
to  increase  the  waste  of  hay  and  grain  in  feeding. 

—  +o» 


A  BARREL  RACK. 

The  illustration,  figure  14,  shows  a  rack  for  feeding  hay 
or  straw  to  calves  or  sheep.  Procure  a  crockery  cask 


Farm  appliances. 


and  oat  two  thirds  of  the  staves,  making  holes  from 
which  the  feed  can  be  obtained.  If  calves  are  to  feed 
from  it,  the  holes  are  made  slightly  larger  than  for  sheep. 
The  animals  feeding  from  this  rack  wraste  no  food,  and 
the  strong  cannot  so  easily  drive  the  weak  from  it,  as 
from  the  ordinary  rack  or  manger.  Lambs  or  calves  are 
disposed  to  fight  over  their  food,  and  it  may  be  necessary 
to  drive  a  stake  about  a  foot  from  the  hogshead  and  op¬ 
posite  the  whole  staves  ;  this  will  effectually  prevent  the 
weaker  ones  being  driven  from  their  feed.  The  rack  is 
easily  filled,  and  the  fodder,  hay  or  straw  may  be  fed 
from  it  without  waste ;  and  if  moistened  bran  or  meal 
are  mixed  with  it,  forming  a  complete  ration,  it  may  be 
fed  in  an  economical  manner,  and  be  easily  reached. 


IMPROVEMENTS  IN  PIG  TROUGHS. 


One  of  the  simplest  troughs  is  shown  in  figure  15.  The 
end  pieces  may  be  as  long  on  one  side  as  on  the  other,  or 


Fig.  15.— SIMPLE  PIG  THOUGH. 


long  on  one  side  and  shorter  on  the  other,  so  that  the 
pigs  cannot  turn  the  trough  over.  They  may  have  cross¬ 
pieces  fastened  in  strongly  every  two  feet,  to  make  it  less 
easy  for  the  pigs  to  stand  in  the  trough,  and  the  trough 
may  stand  in  the  open  lot  or  in  positions  near  the  fence. 

Where  the  hogs  are  confined  in  pens,  a  trough  is  set 
in  the  pen  as  shown  in  figure  16.  This  is  a  fixture. 


RACKS,  MANGERS,  STANCHIONS,  ETC. 


21 


must  be  strongly  made,  and  be  set  at  the  bottom,  on  a 
level  with  the  floor  of  the  pen.  A  pig  of  one  humored 

rfr- 


Fig.  16. — TROUGH  INSIDE  OF  PEN. 

ounds  weight  cannot  stand  in  the  trough;  the  latter  can 
be  cleaned  out  and  the  feed  can  be  put  into  it  from  the 


Fig.  17. — GOOD  FORM  OF  PIG  TROUGH. 

outside.  A  good  form  of  trough  is  shown  in  figure  17. 


22 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


Here  the  swinging  shutter  keeps  the  pigs  away  from  the 
trough,  or  admits  them  to  it,  at  the  will  of  the  attendant, 
and  the  trough  maybe  conveniently  cleaned  out  or  filled, 
without  any  interference  by  the  ravenous  herd.  Figure 
18,  shows  an  improved  shutter  for  the  trough  last  de¬ 
scribed.  The  improvement  consists  of  strong  bent  irons 


Fig,  18. — IMPROVED  TROUGH  WITH  SHUTTER. 


securely  screwed  or  bolted  to  the  swinging  shutter  on  the 
inside  above  the  trough,  so  that  a  strong  pig  can  neither 
get  into  the  trough,  nor  push  others  away,  and  get  th 
lion’s  share.  Assuming  that  ground,  soaked  or  cookei 
food  can  only  be  fed  out  of  troughs  with  advantage,  tha 
pigs  will  eat  and  digest  well  a  great  deal  more  cooked 
food  than  they  will  raw,  and  that  the  more  food  a  pig 
eats  and  digests  the  more  profit  there  is  in  feeding  him, 
it  is  easy  to  see  the  importance  of  good  pig  troughs. 

The  engraving,  figure  19,  represents  a  good  trough  fo7 


rig.  19. — DOUBLE  FEEDING  TROUGH  FOR  PIGS, 

pigs.  The  sides  of  the  trough  are  firmly  nailed  to  the 
end  boards.  An  upright  board,  which  runs  lengthwise 


RACKS,  MANGERS,  STANCHIONS,  ETC. 


23 


of  the  trough,  divides  it  into  two  parts,  and  keeps  the 
pigs  from  getting  into  the  trough.  Strips,  four  inches 
wide,  nailed  to  the  edges  of  the  trough,  divide  the  length 
into  spaces  for  each  pig  to  feed  in,  and  prevent  one  pig 
from  crowding  the  next  one.  There  must  always  be 
more  spaces  provided  than  there  are  pigs  to  feed,  in  order 
to  avoid  fighting  among  the  animals.  These  troughs 
may  be  made  of  various  lengths,  according  to  the  num¬ 
ber  of  pigs  to  be  fed. 


A  PLANK  TROUGH. 

The  common  V-shaped  trough,  as  ordinarily  construct¬ 
ed,  is  a  short-lived  affair.  How  it  may  be  strengthened  and 
made  durable  is  shown  in  the  engraving,  figure  20.  The 


Fig.  20. — DURABLE  TROUGH. 


trough  is  made  of  two-inch  pine  planks,  one  six  and  the 
other  eight  inches  wide,  the  end-pieces  two  inches  longer 
than  the  extreme  width  of  the  trough.  Side-pieces  of 
inch  pine  are  nailed  at  each  end,  with  the  upper  edge 
flush  and  level  with  the  top  edge  of  the  ends.  A  strip 
of  inch  pine  is  nailed  from  the  inside  edges  of  the  trough 
to  the  outside  edges  of  the  end-pieces.  When  the  upper 
strips  become  worn,  they  can  be  quickly  replaced,  and 
there  is  a  hog-trough  that  will  stand  very  rough  usage. 
The  trough  should  be  put  together  with  large  wood 
screws,  as  these  hold  better  than  nails.  Place  white  lead 
on  the  joints  before  fastening  the  trough  together,  to 


24 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


prevent  leakage.  Good  tar,  applied  hot,  will  answer  the 
same  purpose.  Some  farmers  paint  the  entire  trough 
with  hot  pitch  or  tar,  which  acts  as  a  preservative. 


A  PROTECTED  TROUGH. 

t 

Pouring  the  slop  into  a  trough,  with  forty  hogs  crowd¬ 
ing  and  squealing  about,  is  behind  the  times.  When  the 


Fig.  21.— DEVICE  FOR  FEEDING  HOGS. 


slop  is  throwm  into  a  trough,  which  passes  through  the 
fence  to  that  from  which  the  hogs  drink,  the  stronger 
ones  will  crowd  together  at  the  conducting  trough  and 
get  most  of  the  slop.  And  about  every  other  day  a 
new  conducting  trough  must  be  made,  as  the  hogs  will 
break  it  up  in  crowding  for  the  slop.  If  it  is  made  to 
terminate  so  high  that  they  will  not  do  this,  when  the 
slop  is  poured  in,  the  biggest  hog  will  get  directly  under 
it,  and  the  slop,  striking  on  his  head  an d#  shoulders,  will 
be  deflected  off  to  the  ground.  These  evils  are  avoided 
by  having  a  separate  pen  for  the  trough,  filling  it,  and 
then  letting  the  hogs  in.  But  it  costs  something  to  have 


RACKS,  MANGERS,  STANCHIONS,  ETC. 


25 


an  extra  pen,  and  often  the  space  cannot  be  conveniently 
made  use  of. 

This  device,  shown  in  figure  21,  is  a  rack  or  screen, 
made  so  it  will  revolve  on  pins  driven  through  the  end- 
pieces  and  into  the  posts,  as  shown  by  the  dotted  line. 
The  trough  should  be  just  long  enough  to  fit  in  between 
the  posts,  where  it  is  firmly  secured.  The  most  of  the 
trough  projects  into  the  hog-yard,  leaving  merely  enough 
projecting  on  the  other  side,  to  allow  of  the  slop  being 
poured  in  readily.  The  illustration  represents  the  frame 
as  it  is  when  the  pigs  are  feeding,  and  should  be  hooked 
into  place  until  they  are  through.  Before  pouring  m  the 
slop,  reverse  the  rack,  so  it  covers  the  trough,  the  extra 
weight  of  slats  on  the  hog-yard  side  keeping  it  in  place 
until  the  trough  is  filled,  when  the  rack  is  raised  and 
hooked  into  place,  giving  the  pigs  access  to  their  food. 


TROUGHS  FOR  THE  PASTURE. 

Figure  22,  shows  a  closing  trough,  nailed  against  a 
fence,  that  is  very  convenient  for  feeding  bran,  oats,  corn, 


etc.,  to  cows,  calves,  sheep  and  horses.  The  bottom  is 
made  three  inches  wide,  and  the  outer  side  stands  away 
from  the  other,  both  being  set  on  the  bottom.  The  end 
pieces  of  the  trough  are  hinged  to  the  side  next  to  the 


26 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


fence,  and  the  outer  side  is  hinged  at  the  bottom.  Strips 
of  leather  answer  for  hinges.  A  bolt,  or  strap,  passing 
through  the  trough  at  each  end  allows  the  outer  side  to 
come  back  just  enough  to  receive  the  end-pieces,  which 
are  held  in  place  by  a  pin  passed  through  a  hole  bored 
vertically  through  the  outer  corner  of  each,  and  down 
into  the  slanting  side.  To  fold  the  trough  up,  remove 


Fig.  23.— A  LOW  TROUGH. 


these  pins,  and  fold  the  end-pieces  inward,  bring  the 
outer  side  up  against  these,  and  secure  it  in  place  with  a 
strap.  This  trough  is  very  convenient  along  the  side  of 
a  shed,  as  it  can  be  folded  up  out  of  the  way.  Another 
closing  trough  is  shown  in  figure  23.  The  triangular 
end-pieces  are  held  in  place  by  cleats  on  each  side.  It  is 


not  necessary  to  fasten  the  sides  together,  but  they  may 
be  hinged  at  the  bottom.  To  close  the  trough,  the  end- 


RACKS,  MANGERS,  STANCHIONS,  ETC.  27 

pieces  are  taken  out  and  laid  against  one  side,  while  the 
other  side  is  closed  against  them.  The  sides  are  kept 
from  spreading  apart,  when  the  trough  is  open,  by  the 
notches  cut  in  the  cross-pieces,  upon  which  the  trough 
rests.  These  cross-pieces  rest  upon  large  blocks. 


IMPROVED  GRAIN  BIN. 

A  very  convenient  grain  -bin  is  illustrated  in  figure  24. 
The  lid  or  top  is  raised  as  usual  ;  then,  when  desirable,  the 
front  top  board,  which  is  hinged  at  the  bottom,  and 
hooked  inside  at  the  top,  is  unlocked  and  let  down. 
This  gives  convenient  access  to  the  bin  both  in  filling  and 
in  emptying — enabling  one  to  take  out  the  last  remnants 
of  grain  or  meal. 

•O* 


STRAW  BALER. 

Good,  clean  oat  straw  finds  a  ready  market  in  cities  for 
filling  beds,  and  other  purposes.  But  its  quality  and 


Fig.  25. — BOX  FOR  BALING  STRAW. 

texture  are  greatly  impaired  by  baling  in  powerful  hay 
presses,  and  it  is  much  better,  therefore,  put  up  by  the 
aid  of  a  hand  press,  which  preserves  the  fibre  of  the  straw 
unimpaired.  Figure  25  shows  the  box  and  the  method 


28 


FARM  APPLIAHCES. 


of  construction.  The  binding  cords  are  laid  cross-wise 
of  the  box,  resting  upon  the  bottom,  as  seen  in  figure  25, 
and  the  ends  extending  through  the  notches,  B ,  B,  B, 
as  shown  in  figure  26.  A  small  forkful  of  straw  is  then 


Fig.  26. — MODE  OF  ARRANGING  THE  CORD. 


placed  at  each  end,  and  one  in  the  middle,  and  so  on, 
until  the  box  is  filled  and  the  straw  packed  down  com¬ 
pactly.  The  cords  are  then  brought  together  around  the 
bundle  and  securely  fastened. 


-•O* 


WATERING  TROUGHS  FOR  STOCK. 

A  good  substantial  water  trough  is  an  absolute  neces¬ 
sity  on  every  farm,  and  we  here  give  illustrations  of  sev¬ 
eral  useful  forms.  Figure  27  shows  one  made  of  planks 
or  boards.  The  sides  should  be  of  one  piece,  and  also 
the  ends  and  bottom  if  possible.  If  made  of  two  pieces 
each,  joint  the  edges  and  join  them  with  dowel  pins,  using 
the  best  white  lead  between  the  joints  before  driving  the 
pieces  together  snugly.  The  end  pieces  should  be  let  into 
the  sides  about  half  an  inch,  and  both  the  sides  and  ends 
should  be  slightly  sloping,  so  that  the  form  secures  free- 


RACKS,  MANGERS,  STANCHIONS,  ETC. 


29 


dom  from  danger  of  bursting  in  winter.  In  putting  to¬ 
gether,  always  use  white  lead  on  the  joints.  Use  no 
nails,  but  draw  the  parts  together  with  stout  iron  rods, 
having  large  heads  on  one  end  and  screw  threads  on  the 


Fig.  27.— A  PLANK  WATER  TROUGH. 

other.  When  this  is  done,  make  the  bottom  edge  true, 
coat  well  with  white  lead  and  securely  fasten  on  with 
large  wood  screws.  Give  the  trough  a  couple  of  coats  of 
good  paint,  and  when  dry,  the  trough  is  ready  for  use. 
A  convenient  size  is  as  follows,  all  inside  measurements 
at  the  top  :  six  feet  long,  fourteen  to  sixteen  inches  wide 
and  twelve  inches  deep. 

This  form  of  trough  will  be  found  useful  where  water 
is  continually  runningfrom  water  logs,  and  is  designed  to 
prevent  freezing  and  overflow.  At  one  end,  as  in  figure 


Fig.  28. — WATERING  TROUGH. 

28,  a  board  is  fitted  across  the  trough,  and  goes  to 
within  about  one  inch  of  the  bottom.  The  water  must 
flow  under  this  to  reach  the  outlet.  This  portion  of  the 
trough  has  a  cover  with  a  hinge.  It  will  be  seen  that 


30 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


with  this  construction  no  straw  or  rubbish  can  get  into 
this  covered  portion  to  clog  the  outlet,  and  thus  cause 
overflow.  This  protection  is  usually  sufficient  in  the 
winter  to  prevent  the  outlet  from  freezing.  But  a  plug 
is  inserted  in  the  bottom  of  the  trough,  which  can  be 
taken  out  when  the  trough  needs  cleaning,  or  in  very  se¬ 
vere  weather. 

Farmers  who  have  never  used  a  covered  water  trough, 
and  who  have  not  been  able  to  keep  the  water  free  from 
leaves  and  mud  in.  summer,  and  to  prevent  the  trough 


Fig.  29. — COVERED  WATER  TROUGH. 

becoming  filled  with  snow  and  ice,  will  be  glad  of  the 
illustration  (figure  29)  of  a  covered  trough,  which  can 
be  used  on  both  sides.  It  should  stand  in  the  middle  of 
a  yard,  and  the  best  way  of  supplying  it  is  by  a  pipe  car¬ 
ried  underground  from  a  pump.  It  is  supported  on 
crossed  posts  set  in  the  ground  and  pinned  together. 
The  trough  has  a  central  division,  upon  the  top  of 
which  the  covers  rest.  When  in  use,  the  covers  are  let 
down,  and  when  not  in  use  they  rest  upon  the  dividing 
plank,  as  shown  by  the  dotted  lines,  and  as  soon  as  the 
,  stock  is  watered,  the  plug  is  drawn  to  let  the  wrater  off. 

This  non-freezing  trough  should  be  made  two  feet 
deep,  eighteen  inches  wide,  and  fourteen  feet  long,  and 
constructed  out  of  two-inch  oak  plank.  Figure  30  is  a 
sectional  side  view  of  the  trough.  Over  it  is  fitted  a 
double  cover,  with  four-inch  space,  which  extends  to 
within  fourteen  inches  of  the  outer  end.  This  part  is 


RACKS,  MANGERS,  STANCHIONS,  ETC.  U 

covered  with  a  single  hinged  cover,  which  can  be  raised 
and  fastened  up.  The  trough  rests  on  the  ground,  and 
a  bank  of  earth  three  feet  wide  is  raised  around  it  even 


Fig.  30. — SECTIONAL  VIEW  OF  TROUGH. 

witli  the  top.  At  the  open  end  of  the  trough  this  bank 
is  eighteen  inches  thick,  and  is  held  up  with  boards  as 
shown  in  figure  30.  Over  all,  except  the  open  end,  is 
placed  a  layer  of  chaff  a  foot  deep.  On  the  north,  west, 
and  south  of  the  well  and  trough  is  a  tight  board  fence, 
one  end  and  side  of  which  are  shown  in  figure  31. 


Fig.  31. — THE  TROUGH  AND  SURROUNDINGS. 


Across  the  open  end,  just  back  of  the  opening  in  the 
trough,  barbed  wires  are  stretched  across  to  keep  stock 
off  the  well  and  trough.  Under  the  end  of  the  trough 
nearest  the  well  is  placed  a  drain,  made  of  fence  boards, 


32 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


leading  to  lower  ground.  Over  this  drain  is  a  hole  in  the 
bottom  of  the  trough,  closed  by  a  plug,  which  extends 
through  the  cover  as  seen  in  figure  30,  and  by  which 
the  trough  may  be  emptied  into  the  drain.  The  trough 
is  filled  in  the  morning,  and.  the  natural  warmth  of  so 
much  water  having  so  small  a  surface  exposed,  prevents 
it  from  freezing  during  the  day,  even  in  the  coldest 
weather.  At  night  the  open  end  is  closed.  In  summer 
the  water  in  this  trough  is  always  cool,  and  vastly  supe¬ 
rior  for  live  stock  to  that  standing  in  open  troughs. 


♦o* 


A  GUARDED  HORSE  TROUGH. 

Chickens  have  a  way  of  leaving  their  drinking  pens  and 
“fountains,”  and  seeking  the  more  abundant  and  fresher 
water  of  the  horse  trough.  It  is  all  very  well  so  long  as 


Fig.  32.— FLOATING  BOARD  IN  HORSE  TROUGH. 


the  trough  is  overflowing,  but  when  the  water  is  low,  they 
lose  their  balance,  fall  in  and  drown.  Figure  32  shows  a 
board  which  floats  at  one  end  in  the  water,  and  rests  at 
the  other  upon  the  end  of  the  trough,  being  held  in  place 
by  a  twenty-penny  nail  driven  through  it.  The  board, 
being  two  inches  narrower  than  the  trough,  floats  freely, 
and  there  are  no  more  drowned  chickens,  for,  if  they  fall 
in,  they  can  get  out  again  unassisted. 


RACKS,  MANGERS,  STANCHIONS,  ETC. 


33 


BOX  FOR  WATERING  PAILS. 

Figure  33  sliows  an  arrangement  for  keeping  the  pails 
used  for  watering  the  horse  and  cow,  assuming  that 
many  keep  but  one  or  two  cows  or  horses,  and  that  the 
water  is  carried  to  them,  from  being  filled  with  snow  in 
winter,  and  from  standing  in  the  hot  sun  in  the  summer. 
This  plan,  as  shown  in  the  illustration,  is  as  follows  : 
Have  a  box  standing  near  the  well  pump.  The  size 


Fig.  83. — BOX  FOR  WATERING  PAILS. 


)f  the  box  for  a  single  pail  should  be  about  sixteen 
inches  square,  or  twenty  inches  would  be  no  disadvan¬ 
tage.  Have  a  cover  fastened  on  with  either  leather  or 
strap  hinges;  the  latter  can  be  bought  cheaply  at  the 
hardware  store,  and  are  better  than  leather  ones.  For 
two  pails,  the  box  should  be  two  and  one-half  or  three 
feet  long.  In  this  way,  the  pails  are  always  in  place  and 
much  trouble  and  annoyance  is  avoided.  The  best  way 
to  arrange  the  cover  is,  to  have  a  strip  of  board  some  two 
or  three  inches  in  width  to  go  across  the  top  of  the  box, 
forming  part  of  the  covering,  to  which  the  hinges  can  be 
securely  fastened.  Use  a  smaller  box  in  the  hen-house. 


HOME-MADE  HEATING  VAT. 

Vats  or  tanks  with  wooden  sides  and  metallic  bottom, 
have  long  been  used  for  heating  and  evaporating  fluids. 
Figure  34  shows  an  improved  method  of  construe- 


34 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


tion,  which  gives  greater  strength  and  simplifies  the 
matter  of  securing  water-tight  joints.  The  sides  are  of 
pine,  two  inches  thick,  ten  inches  wide,  and  six  feet 
long.  The  lower  angles  are  rounded  off,  as  shown  in  the 
engraving.  Four  inches  from  each  end  grooves  are  cut 
half  an  inch  deep  and  two  inches  wide.  Into  these  are 
fitted  and  nailed  two  pieces  of  pine,  two  by  eight  inches, 
and  twenty-five  inches  long.  They  are  flush  with  the 
top,  leaving  a  space  of  two  inches  at  the  bottom.  Two 
rods  of  half-inch  round  iron,  each  with  a  head  at  one 
end  and  a  screw-thread  and  bolt  at  the  other,  are  in¬ 
serted  through  holes  made  for  the  purpose,  near  the  top 


Fig.  34. — YAT  FOR  HEATING  WATER. 


of  the  cross-pieces  and  screwed  firmly  in  place.  The 
bottom  is  of  galvanized  iron,  seven  feet  eight  inches  long 
and  twenty-eight  inches  wide.  This  is  fastened  by  a 
double  row  of  three-penny  nails  to  the  lower  edge  of  the 
side  pieces,  extending  around  the  curves  to  the  top.  If 
desired,  it  may  be  cut  long  enough  to  turn  over  at  the 
top,  and  nailed  to  the  upper  edge  of  the  wooden  cross¬ 
pieces.  This  would  give  sufficient  strength  without  the 
iron  brace-rods.  This  vat  is  set  upon  an  arch  of  brick  or 
stone  two  feet  wide,  so  that  the  wooden  sides  will  project 
over  it.  For  scalding  hogs,  a  scraping  bench  is  erected 
close  to  one  side  of  the  vat,  and  level  with  the  top. 


CHAPTER  II. 


VEHICLES,  ROLLERS,  HARROWS  AND  MARKERS. 

A  CART  FOR  BREAKING  COLTS. 

Most  colts,  if  taken  young  enough,  and  gently,  though 
firmly  handled,  can  be  driven  as  soon  as  they  can  be 
made  to  know  what  is  wanted  of  them.  Now  and  then 
a  spirited  fellow  feels  his  oats,  or  is  very  nervous  about 
the  harness,  and  still  more  about  the  wagon,  or  cart,  and 
rears,  and  kicks,  and  pulls  side-ways,  trips  himself  up, 
and  goes  down  in  spite  our  best  efforts  to  prevent  it. 
For  such  a  good,  strong  breaking-rig  is  essential.  The 
cart,  figure  35,  is  home-made,  except  the  wheels;  for  these 
a  pair  of  strong  wagon  wheels — either  front  or  hind — 
will  do.  The  shafts  are  a  pair  of  seasoned  hickory  poles, 
extending  about  two  feet  behind  the  wheels.  They  are 
bolted  upon  the  axle-tree,  and  underneath  these  is  a 
lighter  pair  of  poles,  attached  to  the  shaft  in  front,  and 
bolted  also  to  the  axle-tree  by  the  same  clamps  that  are 
used  to  hold  the  shafts.  These  extend  back  as  braces, 
and  are  mortised  into  pieces,  which  are  themselves  mor¬ 
tised  into  the  shaft-poles  near  the  end.  The  object  of 
this  arrangement  is  to  keep  a  colt  from  rearing.  The 
ends  of  these  pieces  will  bear'upon  the  ground,  the  mo¬ 
ment  he  lifts  himself  up.  The  same  result  would  be  ac¬ 
complished  by  having  the  poles  extend  far  out  behind, 
but  this  makes  turning  exceedingly  awkward,  so  that  rigs 
of  this  kind  can  only  be  comfortably  used  in  an  open  lot. 
The  box,  or  body  of  the  vehicle,  is  made  with  reference  to 
strength,  so  that  it  cannot  easily  be  kicked  to  pieces,  nor 
broken  by  overturning  or  being  run  away  with.  A  strong 
plank  is  bolted  to  the  poles  in  front ;  uprights,  and 
(35) 


36 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


cross-boards  of  three-quarter-inch  spruce,  form  the  dash¬ 
board,  which  is  well  braced.  The  back  and  seat  are 
similarly  attached.  It  is  important  that  the  seat  should 


be  so  placed  that  the  driver  may  at  will  throw  his  full 
weight  forward,  to  bring  the  bearing  of  the  shafts  upon 
the  saddle,  or  backward,  to  lift  up  on  the  girth  or  belly- 


VEHICLES,  HOLLERS,  HARROW'S  AND  MARKERS.  37 


band.  The  harness  should  always  be  sufficiently  strong, 
and  before  using  the  breaking-cart,  the  colt  must  be  well 
harness-broken. 


A  HOME-MADE  CART. 

Figure  36  shows  a  serviceable  farm  cart,  which  can 
be  made  by  any  one  who  understands  the  use  of  a  saw  and 
hammer.  The  sides  of  the  box,  which  is  six  feet  long  and 
four  feet  wide,  are  of  plank  a  foot  wide,  the  bottom  of 
inch  boards;  the  end-board  is  fastened  with  hooks,  so 
that  it  can  be  readily  removed  when  loading  the  cart. 


Fig.  86. — HOME-MADE  CART. 


The  wheels  are  those  of  an  old,  worn-out  reaper,  and  the 
axle  consists  of  a  piece  of  gas-pipe,  large  enough  to  fit  the 
hub  of  the  wheels.  Pins  put  in  holes  drilled  through  the 
ends  of  the  axle,  keep  the  wheels  in  their  places.  The 
axle  is  fastened  to  the  wagon  by  wooden  blocks,  hollowed 
out  to  proper  shape  ;  these  blocks  are  firmly  screwed 
to  the  side-pieces.  The  thills  pass  through  the  front 
board  and  are  bolted  to  the  sides  of  the  box.  A.  single¬ 
tree  is  fastened  to  a  cross-piece  bolted  to  the  thills  close 
jo  the  box.  Such  a  cart  is  very  convenient  on  every 
farm,  and  being  low,  it  is  easily  loaded. 


38 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


APPARATUS  FOR  LIFTING  A  WAGON-BODY. 

To  lift  a  heavy  wagon-body  from  its  truck  is  tedious 
work,  if  to  be  done  by  main  force  only.  The  use  of  pul¬ 
leys  facilitates  the  operation  materially,  but  not  as  much 
as  the  apparatus  shown  in  figure  37.  It  is  simple, 
very  convenient,  and  may  be  easily  made  by  any  farmer 
handy  with  tools,  b,  in  the  engraving,  is  a  wooden  rol¬ 
ler,  about  three  inches  in  diameter,  and  resting  on  the 


Fig.  37.— APPARATUS  FOR  HOISTING  A  WAGON-BODY. 


joists  a,  which  are  o^er  the  wagon  in  its  shed,  d  is  a 
rope  which  winds  around  the  roller,  and  is  fastened  at 
its  lower  end  to  the  cross-piece  e.  Through  each  end 
of  the  cross-piece  passes  a  half-inch  round  iron  bar,  f, 
with  bar  on  top  of  e.  The  lower  ends  terminate  with 
square  bends  of  three  inches,  which  hook  under  the  box, 
and  when  turned  half  round  will  slip  off,  and  may 
be  hoisted  up  and  put  out  of  the  way.  The  handles,  c , 
are  four  feet  long  and  are  mortised  into  the  roller.  A 
man  or  boy  standing  on  the  ground  can  turn  the  handles 


VEHICLES,  HOLLERS,  HARROWS  AND  MARKERS.  39 


with  ease,  and  raise  the  box  from  its  bed  in  half  the  time 
four  men  could  do  it  by  hand. 

- KX  - 

JACK  FOR  WAGON  BOX. 

A  cheap  method  of  removing  a  wagon  box  is  shown  in 
figure  38.  A  platform  to  receive  the  box  is  made  by 
driving  stout  stakes  into  the  ground  and  nailing  cross¬ 
pieces  to  them.  The  platform  should  be  as  high  as  the 
top  of  the  wagon  standards.  The  lifter  consists  of  a 
stout  piece  of  timber,  which  will  reach  two  feet  above 
the  wagon  box,  the  top  rounded,  and  a  pin,  driven  into  it, 
which  passes  through  a  slot  in  the  lever.  Two  chains,  pro¬ 
vided  with  hooks,  are  fastened  at  the  short  end  of  the 
lever,  and  a  rope  at  the  other.  One  arm  of  the  lever  is 


Fig.  38.— JACK  FOR  WAGON  BOX. 

three  feet  long,  and  the  other  nine  feet.  The  wagon  is 
driven  close  against  the  side  of  the  platform.  The  lifter 
is  placed,  as  shown  in  the  engraving,  on  a  line  midway 
between  the  wagon  and  the  platform.  The  hooks  on 
the  end  of  the  chains  are  caught  under  the  box,  or  the 
rod  which  passes  through  the  rear  end  of  the  box,  and 
by  pulling  on  the  rope,  the  box  is  easily  lifted  out  and 
swung  around  on  the  platform.  Then  lift  the  front 
end  over.  The  jack  can  be  used  to  return  the  box  to  the 
wagon.  The  pieces  need  not  be  large,  and  when  made  of 
seasoned  wood,  the  jack  is  easily  handled. 


40 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


SERVICEABLE  WAGON- JACKS. 

Take  a  scantling  two  and  a  half  feet  long,  one  inch 
thick,  two  and  a  half  inches  wide;  rip  it  with  a  saw  from 
top,  to  within  five  or  six  inches  of  the  bottom,  like  a 


tuning  fork,  figure  39.  One  prong  is  the  lever,  saw  the 
other  prong  off  at  top,  one  inch  higher  than  the  bottom 
of  the  hind  axle  ;  then  saw  it  off  at  the  shoulder  five  or 
six  inches  from  bottom  ;  fasten  it  on  again  with  a  hinge 
exactly  where  it  was  sawed  off,  and  it  is  ready  for  use. 


Set  it  under  the  axle,  lowering  the  lever  enough  to  allow 
it  to  go  there  ;  then  raise  the  lever  past  the  balance, 
and  it  will  go  together  of  its  own  weight,  and  stay  there. 
At  the  left  of  the  engraving  it  is  seen  as  lowered,  at 


VEHICLES,  ROLLERS,  HARROWS  AND  MARKERS. 


41 


the  right  as  raised.  This  jack  is  very  cheaply  made, 
and  varies  in  dimensions  according  to  the  weights  to  be 
raised.  In  the  one  shown  in  figure  40,  the  lever  a 
is  made  of  one-inch  stuff,  and  the  post  b  and  the 
bearing-piece  c  of  two  and  a  half  by  two  and  a  half.  The 
latter  two  are  slotted  to  admit  of  the  lever  working  freely 
in  them.  The  bearing-piece  is  held  to  the  lever  with 
an  iron  or  a  wooden  pin,  a  little  behind  the  post  or  ful¬ 
crum,  so  that  when  in  use  the  jack  will  support  the  wagon 
without  any  other  fastening. 

- KX - 


ADJUSTABLE  WAGON  SEAT. 


A  six-inch  board  has  slots  cut  in  each  end,  so  as  to  go 

between  the  stakes  of  the  wagon. 
Another  board,  one  foot  wide  and 
three  feet  long,  is  fastened  to  the 
first  in  the  position  shown  in  the 
engraving,  figure  41.  An  old 
seat,  from  a  harvester  or  mower, 
is  fastened  upon  the  boards,  when 
an  easy  and  satisfactory  seat  is 
Fig.  41.— a  wagon  seat,  provided  for  a  agon  when  in  use 
for  purposes  of  drawing  wood,  lumber,  etc. 


LUBRICATING  AXLES. 

Many  lubricate  axles  only  to  prevent  wear  ;  they  over¬ 
look  the  fact  that  by  reducing  the  friction  they  lessen  the 
draft.  A  well-oiled  axle  lightens  the  load.  Oil  to  axles 
is  best  governed  by  the  rule  of  “little  and  often. ”  If 
too  much  is  used  it  exudes  at  the  ends,  gathers  dust,  and 
thus  the  lessening  of  the  friction  is  not  so  great,  while 
oil  is  wasted.  In  nearly  every  case  where  the  lubricant 


42 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


is  wasted  it  is  because  it  is  stuff  not  fi  t  to  be  used,  for  a 
good  lubricator  costs  enough  to  keep  the  average  man 
from  allowing  it  to  wTaste.  Oil  that  “gums”  much  is 
unfit  to  be  used.  Castor  oil  is  a  splendid  lubricator  for 
axles,  but  used  alone  may  gum  too  much.  This  is  cor¬ 
rected  by  the  addition  of  refined  coal-oil  (that  used  for 
lamps),  or  lard  ;  the  coal-oil  is  the  better.  Some  wagons 
are  yet  made  unprovided  with  metal  shields  or  “thim¬ 
bles,”  being  banded  with  steel ;  for  these  some  tallow  may 
be  used,  as  it  is  one  of  the  best  of  lubricants  when  iron 
and  wood  are  brought  together.  Pine-tar  is  a  good  addi¬ 
tion  to  the  lubricant  for  wagon  axles  and  is  a  part  of 
most  of  the  “  axle  greases  ”  sold.  Plumbago  is  another 
good  addition  ;  its  fine  particles  fill  the  small  irregulari¬ 
ties  in  the  opposing  surfaces,  thus  making  them  smooth¬ 
er.  A  mixture  of  lard  and  plumbago  is  good  for  the 
journals  of  reapers,  mowers,  etc.  ;  we  have  found  castor 
oil  and  refined  coal  oil  also  good  for  this  use,  particularly 
for  use  on  the  “sickle-driver.”  For  carriages  nothing  is 
better  than  castor  oil  and  a  very  little  lard  oil  or  refined 
coal  oil.  Lard  oil  alone  has  not  “  body”  enough  for  the 
journals  of  reapers,  mowers,  etc. ;  add  a  little  castor  oil, 
or  tallow  or  plumbago.  While  the  axles  of  reapers,  grain- 
drills,  hay-rakes,  etc.,  will  not  need  lubricating  so  often 
during  the  year  as  the  axles  of  the  wagon,  oiling  them 
must  not  be  neglected,  as  the  rough  ground  the  wheels 
pass  over  makes  the  wear  on  unoiled  axles  quite  rapid. 
The  axles  of  corn-cultivators  require  frequent  lubricating. 
For  these  the  best  lubricants  are  those  recommended  for 
wagon  axles. 

- -Kx - - 

A  LIGHT  SLEIGH  OR  “  JUMPER.  ” 

A  light  sleigh  may  be  made  of  hard-wood  poles  cut  and 
bent  into  shape,  a  few  bolts,  and  a  light  body  or  box. 
Figures  42  and  43,  made  from  sketches  of  a  recently 


VEHICLES,  ROLLERS,  HARROWS  AND  MARKERS.  43 

constructed  “jumper,”  will  serve  as  a  guide  to  any  one 
who  wishes  to  provide  himself  a  light  sleigh  at  a  trifling 
cost.  Two  hickory  poles,  for  the  runners,  are  dressed 
down,  and  the  small  ends  bent  to  the  proper  curve  and 
fastened  until  they  will  retain  the  bent  shape.  The  posts 
are  mortised  into  these  runners  and  the  bench  pieces, 
which  latter  are  firmly  fastened  together  with  bolts.  The 
braces  a^d  their  positions  are  shown  in  the  engravings. 


Fig.  42. — a  jumper.  Fig.  43. — rear  view  oe  jumper. 


A  floor  is  laid  upon  the  bench  pieces,  and  extends  beyond 
the  sides  of  the  box  or  body.  The  box  may  be  plain  or 
ornamented  in  various  ways.  The  one  shown  in  the  en¬ 
graving  has  the  sides  and  back  flaring.  The  shafts  are 
fastened  to  the  curved  end  of  the  runners  with  eve-bolts. 


-•O* 


A  SUBSTANTIAL  SLED. 

Figure  44  shows  a  sled  which  is  principally  used 
in  the  pineries  of  Michigan,  where  a  single  team  will 
draw  on  it  from  two  to  five  thousand  feet  of  lumber  in 
the  log.  Special  roads  are  kept  open  to  accommodate 
these  broad-track  sleds,  and  when  a  load  of  a  dozen  or 


44 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


more  logs  is  under  way,  it  would  be  perilous  for  any 
who  should  venture  to  block  the  road. 

Figure  44  shows  the  general  construction  of  the  sled. 
The  bunks,  a ,  a ,  are  eight  by  ten  inches  and  ten  feet  in 
length;  the  sway  bars  b,  b,  are  four  by  four  inches  ;  the 
reach,  c,  is  ten  feet  between  the  bunks,  the  beams,  d,  d , 


Fig.  44.— MICHIGAN  SLED, 


are  ten  by  twelve  inches,  and  the  track  is  four  feet  eight 
inches  long. 

The  particular  feature  of  this  sled  is  the  concaves,  x, x, 
made  in  the  beam,  F,  which  fit  two  con  vexes  in  the 
block,  E,  as  shown  in  figure  45.  These  taper  from  the 
top  to  the  bottom,  fitting  snugly  at  the  bottom,  and  open 
one-sixth  of  an  inch  on  each  side  at  the  top.  By  this 


Fig.  45. — SLED  RUNNER, 


means  slight  play  is  allowed  to  the  runners,  which  eases 
the  motion  considerably  on  rough  ground.  A ,  in  figure 
45,  shows  one  of  the  steel  shoes  which  are  four  by  five- 
eighth  inches;  the  runners,  B ,  are  four  by  six  inches,  and 
four  feet  long  ;  the  blocks,  (7,  are  four  by  twelve  inches, 
and  three  feet  in  length.  The  iron  plates  are  shown  at  B, 
the  bolts  at  G ;  the  beam,  which  is  ten  by  twelve  inches, 


at  F. 


VEHICLES,  HOLLERS,  HARROWS  AND  MARKERS.  45 


A  DUMP-SLED. 

A  method  of  constructing  a  dump-sled  for  hauling 
manure,  earth  and  other  substances,  is  shown  in  fig- 
ure  46,  and  it  will  be  appreciated  by  many  northern 


Fig.  45. — A  SLED  ARRANGED  FOR  DUMPING. 

farmers.  The  front  bob  of  a  double  sled  has  the 
framework  raised  by  means  of  a  trestle,  and  upon  this  the 
box  is  secured  by  eye-bolts,  and  a  staple  and  pin. 


A  TRIPLE  LAND  ROLLER. 

A  great  objection  to  the  use  of  the  roller  is,  that  it 
tears  up  the  ground  for  a  considerable  space  when  it  is 
turned  around.  Another  is,  that  the  weight  of  the  tongue 
and  frame  bears  heavily  upon  the  necks  of  the  horses, 
and  often  causes  sores.  The  roller  shown  in  figure  47 
has  neither  of  these  objections.  It  is  made  in  three  sec¬ 
tions,  and  the  hinder  section  balances  the  weight  of  the 
frame  and  tongue.  In  turning,  the  whole  implement 
moves  easily  with  the  side  roller  as  a  pivot,  and  avoids  all 
disturbance  of  the  soil.  The  center  roller  is  made  a 
little  longer  than  the  side  ones,  and  thus  secures  the 
complete  pulverization  of  the  soil.  The  rollers  are  easily 
made,  either  of  solid  logs,  or  of  round  discs,  to  which 


46 


3?AHM  APPLIANCES. 


narrow  bars  are  spiked.  The  best  roller  is  the  heaviest, 
and  cast  iron  is  the  best  material  ;  although  much  cheap¬ 
er  ones  may  be  made  of  artificial  stone  molded  in 
wooden  cylinders.  The  material  may  be  mixed  as  fol¬ 
lows  :  One  barrel  of  good  hydraulic  cement  is  well  mixed 
dry  with  three  barrels  of  coarse,  sharp  sand.  A  sufficient 
quantity  of  the  mixed  cement  and  sand  for  one  section  is 
then  wetted  and  worked  up  into  a  thin  mortar,  and  is  at 
once  put  into  the  mold  ;  broken  stone,  first  wetted,  may 


Fig.  47. — A  TRIPLE  LAND  ROLLER. 


be  worked  into  the  center,  around  a  square  shaft  of  oak 
timber,  carefully  centered.  The  whole  is  well  rammed 
down,  and  more  is  added  and  rammed  as  it  is  put  in,  un¬ 
til  the  mold  is  filled.  The  ends  of  the  roller  should  be 
of  clear  cement  and  sand  for  a  few  inches,  only  the  inte¬ 
rior  being  filled  in  with  stone  for  the  sake  of  economy 
and  for  weight  as  well.  When  the  mass  is  dry  and  solid, 
the  mold  is  taken  apart.  Wing  gudgeons  are  fitted  into 
the  oak  shaft.  They  run  in  wooden  boxes,  bolted  to  the 
under  side  of  the  frame.  In  this  way  a  most  excellent 
and  useful  roller,  equal  to  a  cast  iron  one  and  quite  as 
durable,  may  be  made  for  a  cash  outlay  of  about  three 
dollars  only. 


VEHICLES,  HOLLERS,  HARROWS  AHD  MARKERS.  4? 

A  CHEAPER  TRIPLE  ROLLER. 

Figure  48  shows  a  much  simpler  form  of  triple  farm 
roller,  made  chiefly  of  wood.  It  is  in  three  sections, 
each  about  two  feet  long,  such  a  one  being  much 
easier  on  the  team  than  when  made  solid  or  in  merely 
two  sections.  A  good  oak  or  maple  log,  as  nearly  cylin¬ 
drical  as  possible  for  ten  or  twelve  feet,  can  be  cut  in  the 
woods,  the  bark  peeled  off,  and  the  log  sunk  under  water 
for  several  weeks,  when  it  is  to  be  dried  out  under  cover. 


If  seasoned  with  the  bark  on,  the  worms  are  apt  to  work 
on  it.  Saw  off  the  pieces  the  required  length,  strike  a 
center  and  work  them  to  a  uniform  size,  and  then  bore 
holes  for  the  journals.  The  best  way  is  to  have  a  pump- 
maker  bore  entirely  through  the  pieces  an  inch  and  three- 
quarter  hole.  Then  hang  them  on  a  round  bar  of  iron  or 
steel,  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  as  a  loose  spindle. 
The  brace-irons  can  be  made  of  stout  old  tire  by  the  near¬ 
est  blacksmith,  and  four  of  them,  securely  bolted  into 
place,  will  be  sufficient.  Keep  under  cover  when  not  in 
use. 


- K>« - 

A  DOUBLE  LAND  ROLLER. 

The  cheap  home-made  roller  shown  in  figure  49  con¬ 
sists  of  two  sections  of  a  round  log,  dressed  smooth, 
and  fitted  in  a  frame.  The  frame  is  made  of  four  by 


48 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


four  oak,  bolted  together  firmly.  The  logs  are  each 
eighteen  inches  in  diameter,  and  three  and  one-half  feet 
long,  one  being  set  three  inches  ahead  of  the  other  in  the 
frame.  The  pins  for  the  rollers  are  one  and  a  quarter 
inch  thick,  round  for  four  inches  at  one  end,  and  square 


for  twelve  inches  ;  this  end  is  pointed,  and  is  driven  into 
an  inch  hole,  bored  in  the  end  of  the  log.  The  tongue  is 
braced  with  strong  iron  braces,  and  a  seat  may  be  fitted 
partly  over  the  rear  of  the  frame,  and  balance  the  weight 
of  the  tongue,  and  relieve  the  horses’  necks. 


STALK  LEVELER. 

The  frame,  figure  50,  is  of  two  pieces  six  inches  wide 
and  two  inches  thick.  They  are  joined  together  with 


Fig.  50.— STALK  LEVELER. 


pieces  of  old  wagon  tire,  which  has  been  straightened  out, 
and  two  holes  punched  or  drilled  in  each  end,  to  hold  the 
spikes.  The  front  ends  of  this  tire-iron  are  bent  or 
curved,  to  hold  the  chain  to  which  the  horses  are  at¬ 
tached.  By  using  this  contrivance  when  the  stalks  are 
stiff  and  hard  with  frost,  they  will  break  off  clear  and 


VEHICLES,  ROLLERS,  HARROWS  AND  MARKERS.  49 


clean  near  to  the  ground,  and  can  then  be  gathered  up 
and  burned,  or  made  into  manure. 

•  - - 


USEFUL  CLOD  CRUSHER. 

The  illustrations,  figures  51  to  53,  present  different  views 
of  a  home-made  implement  to  be  used  as  a  clod  crusher 


Fig.  51. — CLOD  CRUSHER  IN  OPERATION. 

or  for  other  purposes.  The  runners  are  of  oak  plank, 
two  inches  thick,  six  feet  long  and  eight  inches  wide, 
each  rounded  off  at  one  end,  and  notched  on  the  upper 
edge,  as  shown  in  the  engravings.  The  cross-pieces  are 
of  similar  material,  three  feet  long  and  seven  inches 
wide,  spiked  in  place.  The  outer  edges  of  the  cross- 


Fig.  52. — BOTTOM  OF  CLOD  CRUSHER. 


pieces  are  faced  with  band-iron.  A  staple  with  ring  is 
driven  from  the  inside  of  each  runner,  near  the  front, 
and  the  chain  by  which  it  is  drawn  is  run  through  the 
ring.  In  this  form  it  serves  a  very  good  purpose  as  a 


50 


FARM  APPLlAXCRS. 


clod  crusher.  If  additional  weight  is  desired,  large  stones 
may  be  placed  between  the  runners. 

To  fit  it  for  use  as  a  sled,  it  is  inverted,  a  box  of  inch 
boards  made  five  feet  ten  inches  long,  three  feet  broad, 
and  nine  inches  deep.  The  lower  edges  of  the  side¬ 
boards  are  notched  to  fit  the  projections  of  the  cross¬ 
pieces.  Inch  boards  are  nailed  across  the  bottom  to  close 
the  spaces  between  the  latter.  Staples  are  driven  into 


Fig.  53.— CLOD  CRUSHER  AND  SLED. 


the  sides  of  the  runners  to  receive  hickory  stakes,  which 
hold  the  box  in  place.  For  use  in  winter  the  thills 
are  attached  by  iron  straps  bolted  on,  as  shown  in  figure 
53.  When  the  runners  become  worn,  the  bottoms  are 
planed  off  and  strips  of  oak  pinned  on.  The  box  may  be 
replaced  by  a  rack  for  drawing  hay  or  other  bulky  stuff. 

.o# 

A  BRUSH  HARROW. 

For  the  cultivation  of  various  kinds  of  crops,  one  of 
the  most  useful  implements  made  on  the  farm,  and  one 
which  properly  constructed,  lasts  a  lifetime,  is  a  smoothing 
and  brush  harrow,  figure  54.  It  should  be  made  of 
rather  heavy  stuff,  so  that  the  weight,  as  it  is  dragged 
along,  will  be  sufficient  to  break  the  lumps  and  level  the 
soil.  This  harrow  can  be  used  with  good  effect  in  cover- 


VEHICLES,  ROLLERS,  HARROWS  AHD  MARKERS.  51 


mg  newly  planted  seed,  and  in  all  cases  where  a  disc  or 
tooth  harrow  would  be  too  heavy  or  wide-spread,  a  brush 


Fig.  54. — BRUSH  HARROW. 

harrow,  like  that  herewith  represented,  will  be  found  to 
be  a  good  substitute. 

- »o« - 

A H  IMPROVED  HARROW  FRAME. 

Figure  55  shows  a  very  cheap  and  excellent  har¬ 
row  frame  intended  for  grass  seeding  ;  also  for  working 


52 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


corn  and  potato  land  while  the  crop  is  young  and  small. 
For  this  purpose,  a  harrow  should  be  light,  broad,  have 
a  large  number  of  fine  teeth  sloping  backward,  and  should 
be  so  arranged  that  it  will  draw  level  and  not  lift  at  the 
front.  The  owner  and  inventor  of  this  harrow  claims 
that  he  has  secured  all  these.  The  special  point  of  this 
harrow  is  the  hitching  device.  This  consists  of  a  hookec 
bar  which  works  in  two  stirrups,  one  to  draw  by  and  the 
other  to  permit  the  draw-bar  or  chain  to  rise  and  fall,  as 
the  harrow  passes  over  the  ground  that  is  not  quite  level. 
This  is  an  important  end  to  secure.  The  harrow  is  not 
patented,  and  any  farmer  is  free  to  make  one. 


LAND-MARKERS. 

Figure  56  represents  a  one-horse  land-marker,  such  as 
is  used  among  the  gravel  and  cobblestone  soils  of  some 


sections,  where  it  does  good  service.  The  lumber  should 
be  of  well  seasoned  oak  ;  the  long  rails,  two  by  three 
stuff  in  pairs;  the  cross-bar  and  end  pieces  the  same  ;  the 
cross  bars,  in  which  the  teeth  are  set,  three  by  three 
inches  square  ;  the  thills  one  ami  a  half  by  two  inches  at 


VEHICLES,  ROLLERS,  HARROWS  AND  MARKERS.  53 

the  large  ends  and  tapering  beyond  the  braces.  The 
handles  are  common  straight  plow  handles,  that  is,  bent 
only  at  the  grip.  Three-eighths  bolts  are  large  enough 
for  the  frame. 

The  center  tooth  should  be  permanently  framed  in,  the 
outside  teeth  being  adjustable,  work  in  the  slot  between 


Fig.  57.— END  VIEW  OF  LAND-MARKER. 


the  long  rails,  and  are  held  in  place  by  two  three-eighths 
iron  pins.  They  can  be  moved  so  as  to  mark  from  two 
feet  six  to  five  feet.  The  rails  should  have  seven  six¬ 
teenth  holes  bored  through  them  every  three  inches, 
commencing  at  two  feet  six  from  center  of  middle  tooth. 
For  shares  use  old  points  of  shovel  plows.  The  whiffle- 
tree  is  held  by  a  bolt  which  passes  through  the  center 
cross-bar. 

Figure  56  shows  the  adjustment  of  the  teeth,  one  being 
set  at  two  feet  six,  the  other  four  feet,  also  the  position 
of  the  thills,  the  whiffletree,  the  handles.  The  cross-rail 
tenons  at  ends  should  fit  in  the  end  of  slots  and  be  bolted 


Fig.  58. — MOVABLE  TOOTH  OF  LAND-MARKER. 


fast  with  three-eighths  bolts.  The  braces  on  thills  and 
handles  are  of  iron,  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick  and  an  inch 
wide,  held  by  quarter-inch  bolts.  Figure  57  is  an  end 


54 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


view,  showing  the  pitch  of  handles  and  thills,  a  tooth 
also,  and  the  mode  of  fastening  the  same.  Figure  58 
shows  one  end  of  the  pair  of  long  rails  which  form  the 
slot  for  a  movable  tooth  ;  also  the  shape  of  share.  This 


implement  is  not  patented,  and  can  be  made  by  any  one 
with  common  tools  and  knowledgeand  ingenuity  enough 
to  use  them. 

Figure  59  shows  a  marker  with  plank  runners,  so  sim¬ 
ple  in  its  construction  and  so  clearly  shown  in  the  en¬ 
graving  that  no  description  is  needed. 

Figure  60  shows  an  excellent  marker  for  “  check¬ 
ing”  corn  ground.  The  runners  are  of  hard-wood  plank 
two  by  six  inches,  and  four  feet  long.  They  are  usually 
placed  three  feet  ten  inches  apart.  The  cross-pieces,  of 
two  by  four  inch  stuff,  are  laid  on  top  of  the  runners,  and 
fastened  in  place  with  square  pieces  ;  or  better  yet,  let  into 
the  runners.  Pieces  of  two  by  four  inch  stuff  run  diag¬ 
onally  from  the  rear  corners  and  meet  in  front,  forming 
bases  of  attachment  for  the  pole  tongue.  Bows  of  pieces 
of  hoop-poles  are  fastened  in  these,  through  which  the 
rear  end  of  the  tongue  passes.  This  is  much  superior  to 


VEHICLES,  ROLLERS,  HARROWS  AND  MARKERS.  55 

bolting  tlie  tongue  across  the  top  of  the  marker,  for  then 
every  irregularity  in  the  walk  of  the  horses  is  communi¬ 
cated  to  the  marker,  making  short  crooks  in  the  checks  : 
and  where  the  marker  dips  in  a  depression,  its  weight  is 


thrown  on  the  horses’  necks.  When  the  tongue  is  at¬ 
tached,  as  shown  in  the  cut,  no  short  crooks  are  made  in 
the  checks,  there  is  neither  lateral  or  horizontal  strain  on 
the  horses’  shoulders,  while  the  hoops  make  the  marker 
manageable  in  crossing  deep  furrows,  etc.  The  tongue 
is  held  in  place  by  a  round  iron  bolt  passing  through  it 
and  the  end  of  the  diagonals.  The  double  trees  are  fas¬ 
tened  just  in  front  of  this  point  of  attachment.  The 
driver  stands  on  the  two  boards  on  the  rear  center  of  the 
marker. 


■•o*- 


COMBINED  MARKER  AND  CLOD-CRUSHER. 

In  figure  61  is  a  very  clear  illustration  of  a  useful 
marker  and  clod-crusher,  which  is  made  as  follows  : 


Fig.  61. — COMBINED  MARKER  AND  CLOD  CRUSHER. 

Three  runners  are  provided,  four  feet  long,  eight  inches 
wide  and  two  inches  thick  ;  four  two-inch  planks  of 
strong,  hard  wood,  eight  feet  long  and  eight  inches  wide, 


56 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


are  let  into  the  runners  four  and  one-half  inches  deep  , 
these  slope  from  top  to  bottom  edge  backwards,  forty-five 
degrees,  so  as  to  draw  over  the  rough  ground,  and  break 
clods  by  pressing  on  them.  These  runners  are  let  into 
the  cross-pieces  one  inch,  and  are  fastened  together  by 
large  screws.  A  strip  of  two  by  four  is  halved  down  on 
the  runners  in  the  front,  for  a  draw-bar.  The  tongue  is 
fitted  with  hooks,  which  are  attached  to  rings  on  the 
draw-bar,  so  that  it  can  be  removed  when  the  sled  is 
turned  over  to  be  used  as  a  clo  1-crusher. 


A  LAND  LEYELER. 

For  preparing  land  for  grass  seeding,  or  for  corn-plant¬ 
ing,  the  three  plank  leveler  and  clod-crusher  is  useful. 


The  planks  are  held  together  by  a  chain,  and  both  with 
large  washers,  which  pass  through  links.  If  short  pieces 
of  heavy  chain  are  fastened  to  the  holes  in  the  rear  plank 
they  will  mark  sufficiently  plain  for  corn  or  potato 
planting. 


CHAPTER  III. 


SMALL  TOOLS  AND  APPLIANCES. 

BAG  HOLDEKS. 

Tliere  is  an  endless  variety  of  devices  for  holding  a  bag 
upright,  with  the  mouth  open.  One  of  the  simplest, 
figure  63,  consists  of  a  piece  of  hickory  or  white  oak 
bent  into  a  half-circle,  and  the  ends  passed  through  a 


somewhat  larger  rod  of  the  same  kind  of  wood,  and 
wedged  fast.  A  screw  is  driven  into  each  end  of  the  rod, 
and  filed  to  a  point.  To  use  it,  the  mouth  of  the  bag 
is  put  through  the  half  circle,  and  the  edge  is  turned 
down  over  the  holder,  and  over  the  sharp  points,  which 
hold  it  firmly.  The  bag  is  then  held  while  it  is  filled,  or 
it  may  be  hung  upon  two  hooks,  or  the  holder  may  be 
fitted  in  a  frame  on  a  stand,  so  that  one  can  use  it  with¬ 
out  any  help  to  hold  the  bags. 

A  very  good  form  is  shown  in  figure  64  for  farmers  who 
sack  their  grain  in  the  granary,  one  side  of  the  room 
being  used  as  a  passage-way.  It  is  swung  by  staples  to 
the  posts,  and  can  be  changed  readily  from  one  post  to 
another  by  having  staples  arranged  in  each  post.  Three- 
quarter  inch  round  iron  is  used,  all  in  one  piece,  the  rod 
(57) 


58 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


being  bent  or  welded  to  make  tlie  circular  shaped  open¬ 
ing  for  the  hopper.  The  hopper  is  made  of  common 
sheet  iron,  funnel-shaped,  turned  and  wired  on  the  upper 


side  to  add  to  its  strength  and  to  reduce  the  sharpness 
of  the  edge.  Four  small  hooks  can  be  riveted  to  the 
hopper,  to  attach  the  sack  when  filling  it.  When  not 
in  use,  the  holder  can  be  swung  back  out  of  the  way.  If 
desired,  the  hopper  can  be  permanently  attached  to  the 
iron  rim  or  holder  by  a  couple  of  small  rivets  passing 


Fig.  65.— A  BETTER  BAG  HOLDER. 


through  both.  This  will  prevent  the  hopper  from  being 
displaced  by  the  weight  of  the  bag. 

The  holder  illustrated  in  figure  65,  has  the  advantage 


SMALL  TOOLS  AtfD  APPLIANCES. 


59 


of  being  built  almost  wholly  of  wood,  and  can  be  made 
by  any  ingenious  farmer.  It  can  also  be  adjusted  to  vari¬ 
ous  heights  by  moving  it  up  or  down  a  notch.  The  back 
is  of  inch  board,  about  one  foot  wide  and  of  any  desired 
length,  from  fifteen  to  thirty  inches.  The  arms  are  an 
inch  thick  and  an  inch  and  a  half  wide,  fastened  by 
screws  into  the  notches  in  the  back  and  supported  by 
wire  rods  which  may  be  held  by  screws  through  the  flat¬ 
tened  ends,  or  may  pass  through  the  back  and  arms  and 
clinch.  The  cross-piece  is  of  tough  wood,  three-fourths 


of  an  inch  square.  For  holding  the  bag  there  is  one 
hook  on  the  back  piece,  two  on  each  arm,  and  one  under 
the  cross-piece.  The  whole  is  supported  on  two  strong 
spikes  driven  into  the  wall  of  the  barn  or  other  building, 
and  projecting  far  enough  to  fit  the  notches  on  the  side. 

The  bag  holder  shown  at  figure  66,  is  portable  and  may 
be  taken  wherever  it  is  to  be  used.  The  sack  to  be  filled 
is  brought  up  inside  of  the  frame  and  turned  over  and 
hooked  on  the  underside  of  it.  The  hooks  are  put  here 
because  they  are  not  in  the  way  and  the  sack  is  not  torn 
by  the  weight  of  the  grain,  as  would  be  the  case  if  the 


60 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


hooks  were  put  on  the  top  of  the  frame.  The  frame 
must  be  somewhat  smaller  than  the  sack.  The  sack  can 
be  tilled  to  the  top  of  the  frame,  as  the  part  drawn  over 
will  be  enough  to  tie  by.  -  The  material  used  is  inch  stuff. 
The  length  of  the  legs  must  be  such  that  when  the  sack 
is  put  on  the  hooks  the  bottom  will  rest  on  the  lloor. 

Another  form  of  portable  holder,  shown  in  figure  67, 
is  so  compact  and  light  that  it  can  be  carried  into  the 


FiG\  67. — A  SIMPLE  BAG  HOLDEB. 

o 


field  if  desired.  The  apparatus  consists  simply  of  three 
fight  poles  about  six  feet  long,  and  loosely  fastened  to¬ 
gether  at  one  end  with  a  small  carriage  bolt,  and  three 
screw-hooks  at  the  proper  height  for  holding  the  bag 
when  stretched  out,  as  seen  in  the  illustration. 

- K>» 

HANDLING  POTATOES. 

Potatoes  are  best  stored  in  a  dry,  cool  cellar,  where  the 
temperature  can  be  kept  by  ventilation  at  about  forty  de¬ 
grees.  The  floor  should  be  of  planks,  raised  three  inches 
from  the  ground,  and  laid  with  one-inch  spaces  between 
them  for  ventilation.  The  bins  should  be  about  eight 


SMALL  TOOLS  AND  APPLIANCES.  61 

feet  long,  four  feet  wide  and  deep,  made  of  loose-barred 
partitions  (figure  68),  wired  together  at  the  corners.  A 
bin  of  this  size  will  hold  one  hundred  bushels,  and  with 
such  a  one  it  is  very  easy  to  know  precisely  how  much  the 
crop  amounts  to. 

The  box  shown  at  figure  G9  will  be  found  a  great  con¬ 
venience  in  gathering  and  storing  the  potatoes.  It  is 
made  eighteen  inches  long,  fifteen  inches  deep  in  the 
clear  at  tiie  sides,  and  ten  inches  wide,  all  inside  measure¬ 
ments  ;  thus  holding  two  thousand  and  seven  hundred 


Fig.  68. — PANEL  OF  POTATO  BIN.  Fig.  69. — SLATTED  BOX  FOR  POTATOES. 


cubic  inches,  or  thirteen  cubic  inches  (about  two  good- 
sized  potatoes)  over  a  heaped  bushel,  which  is  two  thou¬ 
sand  and  six  hundred  and  eighty-seven  inches.  These 
boxes  can  be  set  one  upon  another,  and  then  have  a  space 
left  between  the  potatoes,  and  are  thus  well  adapted  for 
use  in  storing  a  part  of  the  crop,  or  a  small  quantity  for 
domestic  use.  The  barred  sides  and  bottom  secure  abun¬ 
dant  ventilation.  The  bins  in  the  cellar  should  have  a 
space  of  four  inches  between  the  end  and  the  wall,  and 
between  the  sides  ;  this  is  easily  made  by  placing  a  short 
rail  between  them,  or  a  piece  of  four  by  four  scantling, 
and  this  will  relieve  the  sides  from  the  bulging  pressure 
of  the  potatoes.  It  is  advisable  to  have  a  well-built  root 
cellar,  or  a  cellar  under  the  barn,  for  storing  potatoes ; 
a  house  cellar  should  never  be  used  for  this  purpose. 


62 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


GRINDSTONES  AND  FRAMES. 

A  grindstone,  to  do  good  service,  should  be  at  least 
three  feec  in  diameter  and  two  and  one-half  to  three 
inches  in  thickness,  having  a  bevel  on  each  side  of  the 
face  for  grinding  on.  It  should  be  quite  free  from  hard 
spots  of  iron  pyrites,  which  are  injurious  to  tools,  al¬ 
though  they  may  be  taken  out  with  a  sharp-pointed 
punch.  If  it  is  not  centered  truly  it  will  work  out  of 
shape  and  soon  require  tracing  up.  It  should  run  as  fast 


Fig.  70. — GRINDSTONE  SET. 

as  possible,  as  it  does  its  work  better  and  more  quickly. 
To  prevent  it  from  throwing  water,  a  piece  of  bagging 
should  be  fastened  to  a  staple  fixed  across  the  frame  on 
each  end  (as  shown  in  figure  70),  but  not  so  close  as 
to  grind  it  out ;  this  will  catch  the  excess  of  water  and 
yet  keep  the  stone  wet  enough  and  clean  it.  The  stone 
should  be  kept  in  the  shade  and  never  in  water,  which 
softens  it  and  makes  one  side  wear  faster  than  the  other. 
The  water  box  should  have  a  hole  in  it  to  let  out  the 
water  and  keep  the  stone  dry  when  not  in  use.  In  grind¬ 
ing,  it  should  mostly  turn  from  the  tool,  and  if  used 
otherwise,  great  care  should  be  taken  by  the  one  who 
holds  the  tool,  not  to  gouge  the  stone. 

Figure  71  shows  a  novel  style  of  frame  for  a  grind¬ 
stone.  The  frame  proper  consists  of  the  iron  part  or 
bearing  of  a  reaper  reel,  The  arms  to  which  the  reel 


SMALL  TOOLS  AND  APPLIANCES 


63 


sticks  were  fastened.,  are  all  broken  off  but  one.  To  this 
one  the  crank  is  bolted,  as  seen  in  figure  71.  Four  holes 
are  drilled  through  the  rim  of  the  reel-wheel,  to  which 


Fig.  71. — GRINDSTONE  FRAME. 


is  bolted  a  hard  wood  board  one  inch  thick,  and  haying 
a  square  .hole  half  way  through,  in  which  the  center 
block  fits.  A  bolt  passes  through  a  board  block  to  a 
«strip  of  iron,  which  may  be  bent  to  form  a  crank  for 


Fig.  72. — cross-section.  Fig.  73.— center  block. 

foot-power.  A  cross-section  of  the  stone  as  hung  is 
shown  in  figure  72  ;  the  center  block  and  board  to  which 
it  is  fastened  are  seen  in  figure  73.  This  frame  should 
be  bolted  to  a  post  or  tree. 


64 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


TOOL  HOLDER. 


Many  a  boy,  and  his  father  as  well,  who  has  toiled  over 
the  grindstone  to  sharpen  tools,  will  be  pleased  with  the 
device  shown  in  figure  74,  for  giving  a  smooth,  even  edge 
to  tools,  which  can  be  held  by  the  hands,  while  the  stone 
is  turned  by  a  treadle  or  a  horse-power.  It  is  a  triangle  of 
wooden  bars,  put  together  as  shown,  having  a  sharp  pin 
at  the  point,  a  clamp  for  holding  the  tool  at  the  center, 
and  holes  at  the  sides  for  tying  an  axle  helve  with  cords, 
to  keep  it  firm.  The  grindstone  is  near  a  wall  or  a  post. 


Fig.  75.— DAMAGED  AND 
REPAIRED  GRINDSTONE. 


and  the  pin  is  pushed  into  this  to  hold  the  frame.  Tr5 
frame  is  then  held  in  its  proper  position  by  the  hands,  and 
if  held  firmly,  will  grind  an  even  bevel  on  any  tool.  A 
scythe,  ora  cutting-bar  of  a  mower  or  reaper,  or  a  chisel, 
can  thus  be  ground  perfectly  and  with  little  labor. 


'  HOW  TO  REPAIR  A  GRINDSTONE. 

Usually  a  grindstone  is  worn  out  of  level,  and  very 
irregularly.  This  is  scarcely  to  be  avoided  when  such  a 
large  variety  of  tools,  including  scythes,  mower  sections, 
axes,  hoes,  and  many  other  tools  are  ground.  After  or¬ 
dinary  use,  those  who  are  not  careful  to  preserve  the  stone 


SMALL  TOOLS  AKD  APPLIANCES. 


65 


true,  with  smooth  and  slightly  rounded  face,  the  stone 
appears  as  at  a,  in  figure  75.  It  is  then  beyond  the 
power  of  the  owner  to  repair  the  damage,  unless  he  is  an 
expert  mechanic,  when  he  takes  a  piece  of  old  stove- 
plate  and  grinds  the  stone  down  to  a  slightly  rounded  or 
beveled  face,  like  that  shown  at  b.  The  best  way  to  do 
this  is  to  take  a  spade  or  a  shovel,  and  turning  it  back 
upwards,  to  grind  it  sharp  against  the  turning  of  the 
stone.  This  will  bring  the  stone  into  the  right  shape, 
and  in  sharpening  the  spade,  do  a  useful  job  at  the  same 
time. 


A  WOODEN  MANGER  FORK. 

The  common  method  of  pitching  fodder  into  mangers 
vith  a  steel-timed  fork,  is  often  accompanied  with  harm 


to  animals.  They  will  crowd  around  the  rack  or  man¬ 
ger,  and  frequently  receive  an  accidental  thrust  in  the 
head  or  body  with  the  sharp  fork.  Not  infrequently  an 
eye  is  lost,  and  with  a  horse  this  is  a  serious  matter. 
The  wooden  manger  fork  shown  in  figure  76  avoids 
this  danger.  It  is  made  of  a  piece  of  hickory  or  oak  six 
feet  long,  an  inch  and  a  half  wide,  and  an  inch  thick. 

Four  feet  of  its  length  is  shaped  round  for  a  handle. 
The  other  end  is  sawed  or  split  into  three  equal  parts,  to 
within  a  few  inches  of  the  rounded  portion,  where  an 
iron  band  is  placed.  The  “  tines”  are  spread  apart,  and 
held  in  position  by  a  wooden  brace  placed  between  them. 


6G 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


The  tines  are  rounded,  smoothed,  and  slightly  sharpened 
at  their  points. 

- »o« - 

HOME-MADE  AND  USEFUL  CHAFF  FORKS. 

Figure  77  represents  a  home-made  fork  with  tines 
about  two  feet  long,  and  having  a  spread  of  twenty 
inches.  The  teeth  are  straight  above,  and  curved  towards 
the  point.  They  are  fastened  by  screws  to  the  three-inch 


hard-wood  head,  and  strengthened  by  an  iron  rod  near 
the  head,  and  by  a  round  wooden  rod,  which  passes 
through  them  and  to  which  they  are  tacked  fast.  The 
head  is  strengthened  by  a  similar  piece  of  oak  or  ash,  half 
an  inch  thick,  screwed  upon  its  edge,  and  through  which 
the  handle  passes.  This  is  of  ash  or  hickory,  large 
enough  around  to  give  the  hand  a  good  hold,  and  is  fas¬ 
tened  by  wiring  to  the  top  side  of  the  head.  Such  a 
fork  may  be  made  quite  light,  and  the  six  tines  being 


SMALL  TOOLS  AND  APPLIANCES. 


67 


only  four  inches  apart,  will  handle  either  chaff  or 
light  straw  to  good  advantage.  We  give,  by  way  of 
comparison,  a  simple  chaff  fork,  figure  78,  made  by 
first  binding  and  then  carefully  splitting  a  single  piece 
of  hickory  or  ash,  handles  and  tines  being  formed  of  the 
same  stick,  A  ring-ferule  or  hand  of  wire  is  placed  at 
the  point  beyond  which  the  splits  may  not  go,  and  after 
the  splits  are  made,  the  tines  are  spread  apart  by  wedge- 
shaped  pieces  of  wood.  These  forks  are  easily  made  and 
are  the  very  best  stable  forks  that  can  be  used.  There 
is  no  danger  of  pricking  horses  or  cattle  with  them,  and 
if  one  be  carelessly  left  in  the  stable,  or  falls  down, 
neither  man  nor  beast  is  likely  to  be  hurt. 


-♦O*- 


STABLE  SCRAPER  AND  BROOM. 


The  manure  gutter  is  easily  cleaned  out  with  the  scraper 
and  broom  shown  below.  The  scraper,  figure  79,  is  made 


to  fit  the  width  of  the  gutter,  and  brings  the  manure  to 
the  trap-door.  The  broom,  figure  80,  is  then  used  to 
sweep  the  waste  matter  from  the  floors  into  the  gutter, 


68 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


and  from  the  gutters  into  the  trap-doors,  leaving  the 
floor  clean  and  clear  for  a  new  supply  of  litter. 

- KX - 

A  STRAW  OR  HAT  HOOK. 

A  convenient  hook  for  pulling  straw  or  hay  out  of  i 
stack  for  distribution  amon  sheep  or  cattle,  is  shown  ir, 
figure  81.  It  consists  of  a  s  ut  pole  pointed  at  one  end  ; 
a  slit  is  cut  through  it  and  {  100k  is  pivoted  as  shown  in 


Fig.  81. — STRAW  OR  HAT  HOOK. 


the  engraving,  so  that  it  will  be  pushed  back  when  it  is 
thrust  into  the  stack,  and  drawn  forward,  when  it  is 
pulled  out.  A  strong  cord  helps  to  strengthen  the  hook, 
When  the  hook  is  pulled  out  of  the  stack,  it  brings  a 
quantity  of  straw  or  hay  with  it. 


FORK  FOR  HANDLING  STONES. 

The  fork,  figure  82,  for  lifting  stones  will  prevent  many 
a  back-ache.  It  should  have  four  prongs,  which  are 


curved  so  as  to  hold  the  stones,  and  a  strong  handle.  By 
a  knack  in  giving  a  quick  jerk,  a  heavy  stone  can  be 
lifted  and  thrown  into  a  wagon,  and  without  stooping. 
Having  used  one  of  these  contrivances  to  pick  up  stones, 
we  can  speak  with  knowledge  of  its  usefulness.  It  i? 


SMALL  TOOLS  AND  APPLIANCES. 


69 


made  of  prongs  of  horse-shoe  iron,  welded  to  a  heavier 
cross-bar,  which  has  two  strong  straps  to  receive  the 
handle. 


SALT  BON  FOR  STOCK. 

Salt  should  be  given  regularly  to  horses,  cattle,  and 
sheep,  but  it  is  rarely  so  given,  because  a  supply  is  not 
kept  handy  for  use.  The  box  shown  in  figure  83  may 


Fig.  83. 

he  hung  in  a  stable  or  shed,  or  to  a  tree  or  post  in  the 
pasture.  The  salt  is  protected  from  the  rain,  and  if  re¬ 
plenished  when  necessary,  the  stock  will  be  supplied 
with  it  regularly. 

- ♦<>•  -  ■ 


SAFETY  SINGLE-TREE. 

In  plowing  among  fruit  trees  or  in  corn,  single-trees 
having  the  traces  arranged  the  usual  way,  will  do  much 
injury  to  the  trees  or  corn.  There  is  a  method  in  ar¬ 
ranging  the  traces  which  will  avoid  all  this,  as  can  be 
seen  in  the  illustration,  figure  84.  A  knot  is  made  on 


70 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


the  end  of  the  trace  rope,  when  the  rope  is  passed  through 
the  hole  made  for  the  purpose,  and  brought  around  in 
the  grooved  end  of  the  single-tree.  To  prevent  the  rope 
from  getting  out  of  place,  it  is  wired  or  tied  with  strong 
cord.  If  the  tree  is  struck  by  the  end  of  the  single-tree, 
thus  guarded,  it  slides  off  without  doing  much  injury. 
If  the  trees  are  young  and  small,  with  smooth  and  tender- 


bark,  it  is  well  to  wrap  the  end  of  the  traces,  for  about 
eighteen  inches  from  the  single-tree,  with  old  cloth,  to 
prevent  the  rough,  twisted  rope  from  chafing  the  trees. 
Always  use  a  shorter  single-tree  in  plowing  and  culti- 
fcivating  an  orchard  than  in  ordinary  plowing,  and  also 
use  a  small  horse  or  mule  to  do  the  work,  as  this  allows 
of  more  thorough  work,  and  with  less  liability  of  injury 
to  the  low  branches  or  the  trunks  of  the  trees. 

- *>• - 

ROOT  PULPERS  AND  CUTTERS. 

Those  who  feed  beets,  turnips,  carrots  and  other  roots, 

find  it  necessary  to  reduce  them 
by  some  cheaper  method  than  cut¬ 
ting  by  hand  with  a  knife.  An 
excellent  machine  for  pulping 
roots  is  shown  in  figure  85.  It 
may  be  made  by  any  carpenter  in 
two  days,  at  a  cost  of  about  six 
dollars.  The  plan  of  the  machine 
is  given  in  the  engraving.  It  is 
simply  a  square  or  oblong  box,  with  a  spiked  cylinder 


Fig.  85. — ROOT  PULPER. 


SMALL  TOOLS  AND  APPLIANCES. 


71 


fitted  in  it,  the  cylinder  having  a  square  gudgeon  at  one 
end,  to  which  a  handle  is  fitted.  To  save  expense  the 
heavy  wheel  and  handle  attached,  of  a  fodder  cutter,  may 
be  taken  off  and  used  on  the  root  pulper,  as  the  two 
will  rarely  be  used  at  the  same  time.  The  cylinder  is 
closely  studded  with  sharp,  chisel-pointed  spikes.  These 
teeth  are  made  of  one-quarter  inch  square  bar  iron, 
and  are  three  inches  long;  the  sharp  edges  are  worked 
out  on  an  anvil,  and  are  chilled  by  immersion  in 


Fig.  86. — HOME-MADE  ROOT-CUTTER.  Fig.  87. — ROOT-CUTTER  SLIDE. 

cold  salt  water  when  red  hot,  the  other  end  being  cut 
with  a  screw  thread.  To  secure  strength,  and  to  make 
the  machine  work  with  more  ease,  the  cutters  are  screwed 
in  so  far  as  to  leave  only  half  an  inch  or  a  little  more 
projecting.  A  still  cheaper  form  is  illustrated  in  figure 
8G.  At  A  is  seen  the  hopper  which  is  without  a  bot¬ 
tom.  The  slide,  figure  87,  contains  a  two-edged  knife, 
and  runs  in  the  grooves,  G  G,  in  the  top  of  the  frame, 
close  to  the  bottom  of  the  hopper.  Near  the  bottom  of 
the  frame  is  a  roller,  R,  into  which  is  fitted  the  handle, 
H«  This  is  connected  with  the  slide  by  the  rod,  R  The 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


knife  should  be  about  four  inches  wide  and  one-quarter 
inch  thick,  be  placed  diagonally  in  the  slide,  leaving  half 
an  inch  space  between  it  and  the  bottom  of  the  slide. 
When  using  the  apparatus  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  move 
the  handle  to  and  from  the  hopper.  It  works  easily  and 
prickly,  is  durable,  and  with  fair  usuage  is  not  likely  to 
get  out  of  order.  A  ready  way  of  chopping  a 
few  roots,  is  to  use  a  spade  ground  to  a  sharp 
edge,  and  a  box  in  which  the  roots  are  quickly 
reduced  to  slices.  A  basket  of  turnips  or  ap¬ 
ples,  can  be  sliced  in  this  way  in  one  minute. 
For  a  larger  quantity,  a  chopper  may  be 
made  as  in  the  engraving,  figure  88.  It  has 
two  long  blades,  and  the  roots  are  hashed  up 
rapidly,  and  all  danger  of  choking  is  avoided. 
A  common  cast-iron  winged  gudgeon,  having 
steel  strips  riveted  on  the  edges,  answers  as 
well  as  one  forged  out  by  a  blacksmith,  at 
several  times  its  cost.  The  roots,  so  cut, 
may  be  mixed  with  meal,  and  fed  to  the 
cows.  Apples  are  excellent  for  dairy  cows  when  fed  in 
this  way,  and  largely  increase  the  flow  of  milk,  beside? 
being  healthy  for  them. 


Fig.  88.  root 

CUTTER. 


ROOT  WASHERS. 

A  convenient  washer  for  potatoes  and  roots,  consists  of 
a  kerosene  barrel  hung  in  a  frame,  as  shown  in  figure 
89,  on  next  page.  Two  openings  are  made  in  one  side 
of  the  barrel — a  large  one,  two  staves  wide,  and  a  small 
one  only  one  inch  wide.  The  pieces  cut  out  are  used  for 
lids,  both  of  which  are  fastened  with  hinges  and  but¬ 
tons,  and  are  made  to  fit  tight  by  having  thick  cloth 
tacked  around  their  edges.  A  bushel  of  potatoes  or 
roots  are  placed  in  the  barrel,  with  two  or  three  buckets 


SMALL  TOOLS  AND  APPLIANCES. 


73 


of  water,  the  lids  are  closed  and  buttoned,  and  the  barrel 
is  slowly  turned.  If  they  are  very  dirty,  open  the  small 
aperture,  and  by  turning  the  barrel  back  and  forth  allow 
the  water  and  mud  to  run  out.  Add  clean  water  and 


Fig.  89.— BOOT  WASHER. 


turn  again.  They  will  soon  be  cleansed,  when  the  large 
aperture  may  be  opened,  and  the  roots  or  tubers  emptied 
into  a  basket.  The  fastenings  at  each  end  of  the  barrel 
can  be  made  by  any  blacksmith,  and  they  should  be 
bolted  on  with  one-quarter  or  three-eighths  inch  bolts. 
With  this  simple  contrivance  a  man  can  wash  a  large 


Fig.  90. — VEGETABLE  WASHER. 

quantity  of  roots  in  a  day  without  catching  cold  or  a 
chill.  If  kept  out  of  the  sun,  such  a  contrivance  will 
last  a  lifetime.  In  figure  90  is  shown  a  potato  and 
vegetable  washer  for  household  use.  The  ends  of  the 


74 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


cylinders  are  cut  out  of  inch  board  and  are  twelve  inches 
in  diameter.  The  shaft  runs  through  and  has  collars, 
to  which  the  ends  of  the  cylinders  are  fastened  to  hold 
them  firm.  Strong,  tinned  wires  are  fastened  from 
end  to  end,  as  seen  in  the  engraving.  Five  of  these  are 
fastened  together,  and  form  the  lid  to  the  aperture 
through  which  articles  are  admitted.  The  end  of  the  lid 
is  fastened  by  means  of  a  loop,  which  springs  over  a  but¬ 
ton.  The  vegetables  to  be  washed  are  placed  in  the  cyl¬ 
inder,  the  box  is  half  filled  with  water,  and  by  turning 


Fig.  91.— TUB  FOR  WASHER. 


the  crank,  or  by  moving  it  back  and  forth,  they  are 
quickly  cleansed.  Narrow  wooden  slats  may  be  used  in¬ 
stead  of  wire,  if  desired.  An  ordi  nary  tub,  or  a  half  bar¬ 
rel,  arranged  as  seen  in  figure  91,  may  be  used  instead 
of  the  box. 


■♦O* 


CLAMPS  AND  STOOL  FOR  REPAIRING  HARNESS. 

The  device  shown  in  figure  92  combines  a  stool  and  a 
clamp  for  holding  harness  work.  The  bench  or  stool,  £, 
of  any  desired  size,  is  supported  by  two  legs  near  one  end. 
The  other  end  is  held  up  by  the  foot  of  the  long  claw, 
extending  to  a  convenient  height  for  the  operator.  A 
shorter  claw,  c,  is  fastened  to  it  by  a  cross-piece,  p,  about 


SMALL  TOOLS  AND  APPLIANCES. 


75 


an  inch  thick  and  three  inches  wide,  passing  through  a 
slot  in  the  jaws,  in  which  it  works  easily  but  firmly  on 
two  iron  pins,  a  little  more  than  half-way  up  from  the 
bench.  In  the  lower  end  of  the  short  jaw  an  eccentric 
works  on  a  pivot  and  against  a  projection  on  the  larger 


Fig.  92. — A  HARNESS  STOOL  AND  CLAMP.  HARNESS  HOLDER. 


jaw.  Depressing  the  handle  to  this  eccentric  or  cam, 
closes  the  jaws  at  the  top  with  all  the  force  desired. 

A  simple  holder  without  the  stool  is  shown  in  figure 
93.  Two  staves  of  a  flour  barrel  are  sawed  off  at  a  con¬ 
venient  length  for  holding  between  the  knees,  while  sit¬ 
ting  on  a  chair.  The  sawed  ends  of  the  pieces  are  se¬ 
curely  nailed  to  the  opposite  sides  of  a  block  of  wood. 
A  hole  is  cut  through  the  middle  of  one  side  piece,  in 
which  a  lever  is  placed  for  opening  and  closing  the 
holder.  The  lever  may  be  readily  made  of  such  shape 
that  it  will  always  remain  in  the  hole,  ready  for  use. 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


16 

The  curves  of  the  staves  will  furnish  sufficient  spring  to 
hold  the  harness. 

A  BOX  SAW-HORSE. 

The  novel  saw-horse  shown  in  figure  94  is  made  of  a 
dry-goods  box,  of  inch  pine  boards,  thirteen  inches  long, 
eighteen  inches  wdde,  and  twenty-four  inches  in  height. 
Upon  the  outside  of  one  end  are  nailed  two  cleats,  and 
on  the  inner  side  three  cleats,  the  position  of  which  i« 


Fig.  94. — NOVEL  SAW-HORSE. 


shown  in  figure  94.  The  curved  lever  above  the  box  is 
intended  to  do  the  hard  work  usually  imposed  upon  the 
sawyer’s  left  knee,  viz.,  holding  the  stick  sawed  in  place. 
The  necessary  pressure  of  the  lever  is  effected  by  means 
of  the  treadle  and  the  small  rope  or  sash  cord  connecting 
the  two.  The  lever  should  be  so  attached  to  the  side  of 
the  box  that  the  loose  or  curved  end  rests  upon  the  stick, 
held  in  place  by  it,  about  midway  between  the  center  and 
left  diagonal  cleats.  The  treadle  should  extend,  when 
horizontal,  eight  inches  beyond  the  left  side  of  the  box. 
In  using  the  horse,  raise  the  lever  with  the  left  hand, 
with  the  right  place  the  stick  to  be  sawed  so  that  the 
point  where  it  is  to  be  cut  is  over  the  U  ;  the  lever  is 
dropped  or  pulled  down  upon  the  stick  ;  the  left  foot  is 
placed  upon  the  treadle  ;  a  slight  pressure  will  hold  the 
stick  securely.  The  sawyer,  thus  using  both  limbs  for 
support,  and  standing  nearly  erect,  will  find  wood  sawing 


SMALL  TOOLS  AND  APPLIANCES. 


an  easy  though  vigorous  exercise,  quite  exempt  from 
many  of  the  old-time  aches  and  pains.  If  the  horse  is  to 
be  used  in  a  wood-house — a  room  having  a  floor — it  is 
well  to  secure  it  by  screws  to  the  floor ;  if  out  of  doors,  it 
may  be  ballasted  with  a  few  bricks  or  stones,  or  be  fas¬ 
tened  to  a  frame. 


LONG  SAW-BUCKS. 

In  cutting  fire-wood  from  long  timber  or  sawing  lum¬ 
ber,  it  is  convenient  to  have  a  long  saw-horse.  Two 
patterns  are  illustrated  herewith.  To  make  the  one 
shown  in  figure  95, an  oak  stick  averaging  half  a  foot  in 


Fig.  95.— A  LONG  SAW-BUCK. 

diameter,  was  selected  from  the  wood  pile,  and  a  piece 
five  foot  long  cut  off.  Two  one-and-a-half-inch  auger 
holes  were  bored  near  each  end,  not  quite  opposite  each 
other,  to  avoid  weakening  the  timber  at  one  point,  and 


Fig.  96. — A  LIGHTER  HORSE. 

four  strong  sticks  from  the  same  wood  pile  were  driven 
in  for  legs — a  little  under  two  feet  long,  and  standing 
well  slanting  outward.  Six  one-inch  auger  holes  were 
bored  in  the  top,  and  split-out  pegs,  eight  or  ten  inches 


78 


Farm  abpeiahces. 


long,  were  driven  in,  in  a  position  to  firmly  hold  the  wood 
to  be  sawed.  The  two  pegs  of  each  pair  are  not  directly 
opposite,  but  separated  far  enough  for  the  saw-cut  to  run 
down  between  them.  Of  the  first  pair  one  is  four  inches 
from  the  end,  and  the  other  seven  inches  back.  The 
second  pair  is  fifteen  inches  back  of  these,  and  the  othei 
in  the  farther  end  of  the  horse,  these  last  answering  as  a 
support  to  the  long  end  of  the  wood  to  be  cut,  the  other 
two  pairs  being  used  as  the  saw-horse.  When  a  stick  is 
reduced  to  five  feet  or  so  in  length,  it  is  drawn  forward 
and  wholly  supported  on  the  two  pairs  of  pins  nearest 
together. 

The  other  horse,  shown  in  figure  96,  consists  of  an  ordi¬ 
nary  saw-horse  having  a  block  nailed  across  its  legs  on 
one  side,  forming  a  rest  for  the  end  of  a  long  stick,  which 
at  the  other  end  is  fastened  into  half  a  saw-horse,  a. 
The  piece  to  be  sawed  is  laid  on  the  three  rests  thus 
formed,  the  end  to  be  sawed  being  placed  at  a.  As  each 
length  is  sawed  off,  a  is  shoved  toward  b,  the  proper  dis¬ 
tance.  It  will  be  seen  that  this  saw-horse  can  be  length¬ 
ened  out  or  shortened  up,  to  suit  the  length  of  the  stick. 


HOW  TO  TIE  A  BAG. 


Figure  97  shows  a  simple  and  easily  made  bag-tit? 
which  effectually  prevents  any  slipping,  if  properly  ad- 


Fig.  97.— BAG  TIE. 


justed.  Take  any  strong  cord  about  eighteen  inches 
long  and  double  it  as  herewith  seen,  passing  the  ends 
through,  making  a  loop  around  the  mouth  of  the  bag. 
Now  pull  as  tightly  as  possible  ;  then  take  an  end  of  the 


SMALL  TOOLS  AND  APPLIANCES. 


79 


string  in  each  hand  and  pull  again  in  opposite  directions  ; 
pass  the  string  completely  around,  make  a  knot,  and 
double  or  single  bow-knot,  and  the  work  is  done.  A  very 
little  experience  will  make  one  expert,  and  he  can  then 
make  sure  the  bag  will  not  come  untied. 

- »o« 


A  HOME-MADE  RAKE  HEAD. 

Figure  98  shows  the  end  view  of  a  hand-rake  with  the 
tooth  inserted.  The  head-block  should  be 
made  of  green  hickory,  free  from  knots 
and  curls,  while  the  rake-teeth  must  be  of 
dry,  well-seasoned  oak  or  hickory,  and 
having  grooved  places  in  them,  as  is  seen 
in  the  illustration.  The  teeth  are  rounded 
and  are  driven  snugly  into  the  green 
head-piece,  which  latter,  in  drying,  will 
hold  the  seasoned  teeth  so  firmly  as  to 
effectually  prevent  them  from  ever  com¬ 
ing  out.  In  fact,  so  tightly  will  they  be 
held,  that  they  can  scarcely  be  driven  out 
when  the  head-block  has  become  thor- 
Fig.  98— ADiTR-  oughly  seasoned,  the  shrinkage  of  the 
able  rake.  green  WOod  acting  as  a  permanent  vise. 
The  same  principle  might  be  utilized  in  other  small  im¬ 
plements. 

- KX - 

WORKING  BUILDING  STONE. 

Stone  is  the  most  durable  and  the  cheapest  building 
material  where  it  is  plentiful  on  the  farm.  By  a  little 
management  the  stone  can  be  brought  to  a  convenient 
shape  for  use.  The  tools  required,  shown  in  figure  99, 
are  :  a  chipping  hammer,  a  wedge  and  steel  feathers,  a 


80 


FAKM  APPLIAKCES. 


striking  hammer,  drill  and  a  bar  for  opening  cracks  in  the 
stone.  The  clipping  hammer  has  a  broad,  sharp  edge, 
and  acts  as  a  chisel  for  dressing  the  faces  ;  and  the  sharp 
edges  of  the  rectangular  head,  two  by  four  inches,  serve 


Fig.  99. — TOOLS  FOR  STONE  WORK. 


to  dress  down  the  edges  and  corners  of  the  stones.  The 
wedge  is  three  by  one  and  a  half  inches,  and  the  feathers 
are  plates  of  steel  as  wide  as  the  wedge,  which  they  serve 
to  protect.  The  striking  hammer  is  three  inches  square, 
and  six  inches  long,  with  a  beveled  edge  around  the 
face.  The  drill  is  of  one  and  a  quarter  inch  octagonal 
steel,  and  is  eighteen  inches  long,  or  if  there  be  two,  one 
is  twelve  inches  long.  The  bar  is  four  and  a  half  feet 
long,  and  has  a  sharp-edged  steel  point  for  striking  into 
cracks  and  splitting  the  stone,  which  it  is  usually  easy  to 


Fig.  100.— BREAKING  A  LARGE  STONE. 


do.  A  large  stone  is  broken  by  drilling  a  few  holes  in  it 
with  a  one-inch  drill,  and  chipping  a  groove  across  the 
face  along  the  line  of  holes,  as  shown  in  figure  100.  Small 
round  wedges,  with  small  feathers,  are  placed  in  each 
hole,  and  they  are  struck  one  after  the  other,  in  rotation. 


SMALL  TOOLS  AND  APPLIANCES. 


81 


By  this  method  very  large  blocks  are  split  with  an  even 
face.  A  small  stone  is  easily  split  by  chipping  grooves 
across  it,  and  then  repeatedly  striking  along  upon  the 
groove  with  the  face  of  the  hammer. 


*0* 


BLOCK  FOR  SAND-PAPER. 

Sand-paper  is  put  up  by  the  manufacturers  in  quires 
of  sheets  nine  by  eleven  inches  in  size.  As  used  by  many 
workmen,  nearly  a  fourth  of  each  sheet  is  wasted  by 
folding  and  crumpling  over  improperly  shaped  blocks. 
A  convenient  block,  figure  101,  which  permits  the  use 


of  all  the  sand-paper,  is  here  described.  Make  a 
wedge-shaped  piece  of  hard  wood,  one  and  a  half  inch 
thick,  three  inches  wide,  and  five  and  one-quarter  inches 
long,  tapering  from  the  head  to  a  sharp  edge.  Cut  a  V- 
shaped  hollow  across  the  head.  Fit  a  piece  three  inches 


Fig.  102. 

long,  of  hard- wood,  exactly  to  this  hollow.  Insert  in  the 
head  a  wood  or  porcelain  drawer  knob  seven-eighths  of 
an  inch  in  diameter,  fastening  it  securely  by  a  long  screw. 
Cut  a  sheet  of  sand- paper  into  three  equal  parts,  three 


82 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


by  eleven  inches.  Fold  one-fourth  of  an  inch  at  each  end 
of  a  strip  of  sand-paper,  and  slip  under  the  head -piece 
by  loosening  the  screw.  Tightening  it  will  hold  the  paper 
fast  and  smooth  for  work.  A  common  wood  screw  may 
be  used  in  place  of  the  knob,  but  is  not  as  convenient,  af 
it  must  be  turned  by  a  screw-driver. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

APPLIANCES  FOR  THE  BARN,  PASTURE  AND  DAIRY. 

CONVENIENT  STABLE  VENTILATOR. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  fresh  air  in  the  winter 
is  to  be  excluded  from  stables  for  the  purpose  of  keeping 
the  animals  warm.  Warmth  alone  is  not  comfort.  An 
animal  may  suffer  from  cold  in.  a  close,  damp,  impure 
air,  which  is  really  warm,  while  it  will  be  quite  comfort- 


Fig.  103.— STABLE  VENTILATOR. 


able  in  fresh,  pure  air,  which  is  much  below  freezing 
temperature.  The  absence  of  oxygen  in  the  one  case  re¬ 
duces  the  vital  warmth,  while  its  abundance  in  the  other 
case  maintains  an  agreeable  and  comfortable  feeling. 
Consequently,  ventilation  of  stables  is  necessary,  even  in 
the  coldest  weather,  to  keep  the  animals  in  good  health 
and  in  comfort.  But  it  should  be  regulated  judiciously 


THE  BARN,  PASTURE  AND  DAIRY. 


83 


by  a  suitable  provision  of  openings  at  the  upper  part  of 
the  stable,  and  these  should  be  made  so  as  to  be  readily 
opened  and  closed.  A  row  of  holes  cut  in  the  wall  near 
the  upper  floor,  figure  103,  and  covered  with  a  sliding- 
board,  having  precisely  the  same  kind  and  number  of 
holes  to  match  those  in  the  wall,  will  afford  suitable  ven~ 
'dilation  for  the  stable  at  all  seasons.  The  covering  board 
slides  back  and  forth  on  the  pins  shown,  and  covers  or 
opens  the  holes  as  may  be  desirable,  according  to  the  con¬ 
dition  of  the  weather. 

- *o« - 


LIGHT  NEEDED  IN  BARNS. 

Here  and  there  we  see  an  old-style  barn,  built  by  our 
grandfathers,  the  only  window  being  a  single  row  of 
panes  over  the  large  door.  Through  this  comes  all  of  the 
light  admitted  to  the  barn,  except  what  comes  through 
the  open  cracks  between  the  boards.  When  a  barn  of  this 
kind  is  filled  with  hay  it  is  comfortably  warm,  but  very 
dark;  by  midwinter  the  hay,  being  half  consumed,  leaves 
the  walls  unprotected.  With  the  light  come  in  also  the 
cold  wintry  winds  to  chill  the  cattle.  Our  fathers  built 
some  barns  warmer,  covering  the  walls  with  shingles  or 
the  cracks  with  narrow  battens.  The  light  being  thus 
shut  out,  it  was  necessary  to  have  windows;  so  they  put  in 
just  enough  to  enable  them  to  see  to  feed  their  cattle. 
It  was  left  for  our  generation  to  build  barns  that  are 
tight,  comfortable,  and  well-lighted.  But  even  at  pres* 
ent  many  farmers  do  not  realize  the  importance  of  light 
in  a  cattle  barn.  Experiments  show  that  a  herd  of  milch 
cows  not  only  keep  in  better  health  and  condition  by 
having  plenty  of  light,  but  they  give  more  milk.  Every 
barn  should  be  provided  with  abundant  light  and  sun¬ 
shine  on  the  side  where  the  cattle  stand.  The  practice, 
which  is  far  too  prevalent,  of  keeping  cows  in  a  dark  and 


84 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


damp  basement  is  not  a  good  one.  They  can  not  have 
the  sunshine  and  pure  air  so  necessary  for  good  health. 
Windows  that  are  exposed  may  be  protected  for  a  trifling 
sum  by  covering  them  with  wire  netting.  The  day  of 
windowless  barns  has  passed  ;  but  some  of  our  new  barns 
would  be  improved  by  a  few  more  windows. 

- Kmi - 


LANTERNS  IN  THE  BARN. 

It  is  estimated  that  nine-tenths  of  all  fires  are  caused 
by  carelessness.  Never  light  a  lamp  or  lantern  of  any 
kind  in  a  barn.  Smokers  may  include  their  pipes  and 
cigars  in  the  above.  The  lantern  should  be  lighted  in 
the  house  or  some  out-building,  where  no  combustibles 
are  stored.  A  lantern  which  does  not  burn  well,  should 
never  be  put  in  order  in  the  hay  mow.  There  is  a  great 
temptation  to  strike  a  match  and  re-light  an  extin¬ 
guished  lantern,  wherever  it  may  be.  It  is  best  to  even 
feel  one’s  way  out  to  a  safe  place,  than  to  run  any  risks. 
If  the  light  is  not  kept  in  the  hand,  it  should  be  hung 
up.  Provide  hooks  in  the  various  rooms  where  the  lights 
are  used.  A  wire  running  the  whole  length  of  the  horse 
stable,  at  the  rear  of  the  stalls,  and  furnished  with  a 
sliding  hook,  is  very  convenient  for  night  work  with  the 
horses.  Some  farmers  are  so  careless,  as  to  keep  the 
lamp  oil  in  the  barn,  and  fill  the  lantern  there,  while  the 
wick  is  burning.  Such  risks  are  too  great,  even  if  the 
buildings  are  insured. 

- - 

SAFETY  STICK  FOR  MARE’S  HALTER. 

Figure  104  shows  a  simple  method  of  preventing  colts 
from  getting  tangled  in  the  mare’s  halter,  and  so  be¬ 
coming  strangled.  A  piece  of  wood,  eighteen  inches  long 


THE  BARN,  PASTURE  AND  DAIRY. 


85 


and  two  inches  wide,  is  bored  with  a  half-inch  hole  at 
each  end,  as  shown  in  the  engraving.  The  halter  is 
passed  through  these  holes  and  fastened  in  the  usual 


Fig.  104. — HALTER  STICK  FOR  MARE  WITH  FOAL  AT  FOOT. 

manner.  The  wood  should  be  of  tough  oak  or  hickory, 
so  that  it  will  not  break.  It  entirely  prevents  the  for¬ 
mation  of  loops  in  the  halter. 

- *o*— 


TO  KEEP  A  HORSE  FROM  JUMPING. 

Figure  105  shows  a  hopple  to  restrain  a  horse  from 
jumping.  It  consists  of  a  surcingle  about  the  body  of  the 
horse,  together  with  two  short  straps  that  pass  through 


Fig.  105. — HOPPLE  FOR  A  HORSE. 


the  surcingle  and  around  each  foreleg,  being  buckled  so 
that  when  the  horse  stands  upright,  the  strap  will  fall 
about  half-way  to  the  knees.  This  arrangement,  which 
allows  the  horse  to  walk  quite  freely,  prevents  its  run- 


8G 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


ning  as  well  as  jumping.  A  similar  plan  is  to  connect  the 
forelegs  of  a  horse  by  straps  secured  just  above  the  knee, 
but  those  who  have  tried  both  plans  prefer  the  one  here¬ 
with  illustrated.  Some  horses  are  difficult  to  catch 
when  at  pasture,  and  this  device  will  prove  valuable  in 
such  cases. 


COUPLING  HORSES  IN  THE  PASTURE. 

Cut  a  piece  of  tough  wood  two  feet  six  inches 
long,  two  inches  in  diameter ;  shave  off  the  bark  and 
bore  a  three-quarter  or  a  one-inch  hole  near  each  end  ; 
tie  a  piece  of  half-inch  rope  around  each  animal’s  neck, 


Fig.  106.— COUPLING  FOR  HORSES. 


making  a  loose  collar  that  will  not  slip  over  his  head  ; 
take  a  loop  of  the  rope  and  pass  it  through  a  hole  in  the 
bar,  and  into  the  loop  insert  the  key,  made  of  a  piece  of 
a  half-inch  oak  board,  two  by  three  inches,  shaped  as  in 
figure  106.  The  board  being  rounded  at  the  top,  will 
allow  the  rope  to  turn  easily  in  the  yoke  and  prevent 
choking.  Always  couple  the  animal  that  is  likely  to 
stray  with  the  one  that  is  not.  This  contrivance,  used 
frequently  on  Southern  and  Western  ranges,  is  approved 
by  some  as  safe  and  convenient,  and  condemned  by  others 


THE  BARN,  PASTURE  AND  DAIRY. 


87 


as  dangerous  and  uncomfortable  for  the  animals.  We 
give  the  illustration  and  description  for  what  they  are 

worth. 


A  SIMPLE  TETHER. 

Figure  107  shows  a  tetliei  for  a  horse  or  cow  which 
obviates  the  danger  of  an  animal  becoming  entangled  as 
when  staked  out  in  the  usual  way.  It  is  made  as  follows: 
Take  a  stout  piece  of  timber,  a,  b ,  three  and  one-lialf  feet 


long;  fasten  a  ring  at  a,  and  one  at  c,  six  inches  from  the 
lower  end.  Take  a  pole,  c,  d,  making  it  long  enough 
to  extend  back  of  the  animal’s  heels  three  or  four  feet, 
and  fasten  a  ring  to  each  end.  An  iron  spike,  f,  with  a 
ring,  e,  in  the  end,  is  driven  in  the  ground.  rl  he  irreg¬ 
ular  line  represents  a  cord  of  wire  of  any  desired  length. 


88 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


Fasten  the  rod,  a ,  b,  to  the  halter  at  a',  with  a  leather 
strap,  also  c,  d  to  a,  b,  in  the  same  way  at  c;  tie  one  end 
of  the  cord  m  the  ring  at  d,  and  the  other  in  the  ring  in 
the  end  of  the  iron  spike.  The  ring  at  c,  six  inches 
from  the  lower  end,  prevents  taking  up  the  cord,  and 
thus  entangling  the  animal.  The  end,  b,  will  slide  over 
it  as  the  animal  grazes. 


CHAIN  CATTLE  TIE. 

Various  methods  have  been  devised  for  coupling  cattle 
in  their  stalls  in  a  more  humane  manner  than  by  stan¬ 
chions.  The  common  chain  tie  passes  about  the  animal’s 
neck,  and  slides  up  or  down  upon  a  post  or  iron  rod, 
attached  to  the  stall  or  manger.  The  tie,  figure  108,  is 
similar,  except  that  the  neck-chain  is  connected  with 
two  posts  or  rods,  upon  which  it  slides.  The  improve*- 
ment  consists  in  using  rings  upon  the  posts,  and  con- 


Fig.  108. — AN  IMPROVED  TIE  FOR  CATTLE. 


necting  the  side-chain  with  the  neck  chain  by  means  of 
snap-hooks,  attached  to  the  central  ring  as  shown  in  the 
engraving.  This  enables  one  to  adjust  the  tie  to  any  width 
of  stall,  say  from  three  to  four  feet,  and  have  it  reason¬ 
ably  taut.  The  advantage  of  this  method  of  fastening 
cattle  over  any  other  is,  that  while  great  freedom  is  given 
the  head,  so  that  a  cow  can  lick  both  sides  and  lie  down 
with  her  head  upon  either  side,  she  has  no  more  back- 


the  barh,  pasture  akd  dairy. 


89 


ward  and  forward  motion  than  if  she  stood  in  stanchions, 
hence  must  leave  her  droppings  in  the  gutter — if  the 
stall  is  of  the  proper  length.  There  is  a  constant  ten¬ 
dency  to  give  cow  stalls  too  long  a  floor.  Every  cow 
should  lie  with  her  rump  four  to  eight  inches  beyond  the 
floor.  The  only  objection  to  this  is  that  the  cows’  tail 
will  sometimes  become  wet  from  lying  in  the  gutter.  If, 
however,  this  is  given  a  pretty  sharp  fall  and  consider¬ 
able  breadth,  water  will  not  accumulate,  and  there  will 
be  no  inconvenience  experbnced  on  this  score. 


AH  UNPATEHTED  CALF  FEEDER. 

Undoubtedly  calves  which  take  nourishment  directly 
from  the  cow,  do  better  than  those  which  take  it  from 
the  pail,  unless  care  is  taken  to  feed  them  slowly.  An 


artificial  udder  is  shown  in  figure  109,  made  of  strong 
water-proof  duck  in  the  shape  of  a  cow’s  udder,  and  fur-. 

nished  with  teats,  each  filled  with  a  piece  of  sponge.  The 


90 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


mouth  of  the  bag  may  be  closed  by  means  of  clamps, 
figure  110,  and  the  bag  bung  up  in  the  calf  pen.  The 
calf  will  get  its  milk  slowly  and  along  with  plenty  of 


Fig.  110. — CLAMPS  FOR  CALF  FEEDER. 


saliva,  which  is  an  indispensable  aid  to  digestion.  It  is 
the  want  of  an  adequate  quantity  of  saliva  with  the  milk, 
which  causes  so  much  indigestion  in  calves  that  are  al¬ 
lowed  to  drink  milk  from  a  pail. 

■  ■  •<>•  — 


TWO  KINDS  OF  MILKING  STOOLS. 

The  construction  of  a  very  good  milking  stool  is 
readily  seen  in  figure  111.  Upon  a  hard-wood  board, 


Fig.  111.— MILKING  STOOL.  Fig.  112.— MILKING  STOOL. 

twelve  inches  wide,  one  inch  thick,  and  thirty  inches 
long,  fasten  at  right  angles  a  board  to  serve  as  a  rest. 
This  should  be  eight  inches  wide,  and  as  long  as  the 


THE  BARN,  PASTURE  AND  DAIRY. 


91 


width  of  the  back-board.  Strengthen  the  seat  with  stout 
braces..  Cut  a  narrow  opening  in  the  long  board,  to 
admit  the  fingers,  by  which  to  carry  the  stool,  or  hang 
it  up  when  not  in  use. 

The  other  stool,  figure  112,  is  designed  for  a  man  who 
has  a  good  many  cows  to  milk,  and  desires  to  carry  his 
stool  around  with  him,  while  his  hands  are  left  free.  The 
seat  consists  of  the  bottom  of  a  peach  basket  ;  the  single 
leg  is  made  of  a  round  piece  of  wood  securely  fastened 
to  the  center  of  the  seat.  The  latter  may  be  padded  and 
cohered  as  one  chooses.  Leather  straps  to  reach  up  and 
around  the  waist  of  the  milker,  as  shown  in  the  illus¬ 
tration,  should  be  firmly  attached  to  the  seat. 

- K»  — 

VAT  FOR  DEEP  SETTING  MILK. 

The  advantages  of  the  deep  setting  of  milk  at  a  low 
temperature  can  be  enjoyed  by  means  of  the  simple 
cooler,  figure  113.  To  make  the  cooler  take  six  pine 
planks,  two  inches  thick,  twelve  inches  wide,  and  six 


Fig.  113.— A  COOLER  FOR  SETTING  MILK. 


feet  long,  four  boards  sixteen  and  a  half  inches  long  and 
twelve  inches  wide,  and  construct  a  box  with  the  ends 
gained  in  with  a  groove  a  quarter  of  an  inch  deep. 
Place  a  rubber  strip  between  the  boards,  and  clamp  with 
rods  and  bolts,  to  make  it  as  tight  as  possible.  Provide  a 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


lid  to  keep  out  dust  aud  to  shade  from  the  sun.  Place  a 
faucet  at  the  bottom,  by  which  to  run  off  the  v  ater  when 
it  has  become  warm.  Set  the  cooler  near  the  well 
whence  cold  water  can  easily  be  drawn,  and  keep  the  cans 
of  milk  submerged  in  +he  water.  If  there  is  a  supply  of 
ice,  the  temperature  of  the  water  may  be  still  further 
reduced,  and  the  cooler  rendered  more  efficient.  A  box 
of  the  size  given  above  will  have  room  for  twelve  three 
gallon  cans. 


HOME-MADE  BUTTER-WORKER. 

The  butter  worker,  figure  114,  is  made  to  stand  upon  a 
table  or  low  bench,  or  when  of  large  size,  upon  the  floor. 
The  lever  works  upon  a  rod  and  can  be  moved  sidewise, 
an  arrangement  which  we  have  seen  in  no  other  butter- 


Fig.  114. — A  SERVICEABLE  BUTTER-WORKER. 


worker,  but  which  is  a  very  desirable  one.  The  table 
slopes  forward,  and  has  several  grooves  to  carry  the  liquid 
down  to  a  pail  or  a  dish  placed  to  receive  it.  The  lever 
at  the  under  side  is  leveled  to  a  round  or  sharp  edge,  as 
may  be  wished.  The  cost  of  the  worker  is  a  mere  trifle  ; 
it  should  be  made  of  maple,  ash  or  chestnut. 


THE  BARN,  PASTURE  AND  DAIRY. 


93 


A  CONVENIENCE  EOR  FLY  TIME. 


The  comfort  which  a  cow  seems  to  derive  from  a  free 
use  of  her  tail  during  fly  time,  is  not 
shared  in  any  degree  by  the  milker,  and 
various  means  have  been  devised  to  hold 
the  troublesome  appendage  in  place.  One 
of  the  latest  is  illustrated  in  figure  115. 
Half  a  dozen  six-penny  wire  nails  are 
driven  through  a  piece  of  lath,  and  each 
point  bent  to  a  hook.  A  brick  is  sus¬ 
pended  by  a  string  from  the  lower  end  of 
the  stick.  As  the  milker  sits  down  beside 
dhe  cow,  the  hooks  are  thrust  into  the 
brush  of  her  tail,  leaving  the  brick  resting 
in  part  on  the  ground  or  barn  floor.  After 
Vi g.  115.  —  tail- the  first  futile  efforts  to  swing  the  brick 
holder.  py  tail  power,  the  cows  learn  to  give  it 
up,  and  the  milker  is  free  from  a  very  great  annoyance. 


REINS  FOR  DRIVING  OXEN. 


Figure  116  shows  a  method  of  arranging  the  reins  for 
a  yoke  of  oxen.  Each  ox  has  a  spring  bull-ring  placed  in 


Fig.  116. — DRIVING  OXEN  WITH  REINS, 


94 


FARM  AFFIANCES. 


his  nose,  and  from  these  rings  small  ropes  run  back  as 
seen  in  the  illustration.  Staples  are  driven  into  the  top 
of  the  joke  through  which  the  cords  pass.  It  is  claimed 
that  with  these  reins  a  yoke  of  oxen  can  be  guided  and 
controlled  with  ease.  The  rings  are  quickly  remoTed 
from  the  noses  when  work  hours  are  over. 


YAT  FOR  DIPPING  SHEEP. 

Sheep  should  be  dipped  twice  a  year.  They  suffer  a 
great  deal  from  vermin,  which  are  destroyed  by  the  dip¬ 
ping.  After  shearing,  the  ticks  greatly  annoy  the  lambs, 
upon  which  they  gather  from  the  shorn  sheep  and  prevent 


Fig.  117. — PORTABLE  VAT. 


their  growth.  The  lambs,  at  least,  should  be  dipped,  to 
free  them  from  these  pests,  but  it  is  well  to  dip  the  whole 
flock,  as  a  safeguard  against  the  prevalent  scab,  and  other 
skin  diseases.  A  very  good  dipping  vat  is  shown  in  fig¬ 
ure  117.  It  is  made  of  one  and  a  quarter  inch  tongue 
and  grooved  hoards,  put  together  at  the  joints  with  pitch, 
and  is  furnished  with  handles,  with  which  it  can  be 
moved  from  place  to  place.  It  may  be  six  feet  long, 
three  feet  wide,  and  three  feet  deep.  The  sloping  ends 
have  cleats  nailed  across  them  on  the  inside,  by  which 
the  sheep  are  assisted  to  get  out  of  the  vat,  upon  a 
draining  floor  placed  to  receive  them.  A  good  dip  is 
made  of  one  pound  of  coarse  tobacco,  and  one  pound 
of  sulphur,  steeped  in  five  gallons  of  boiling  water.  It 


THE  BARK,  PASTURE  AND  DAIRY. 


95 


is  most  effective  when  used  at  a  temperature  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  degrees,  and  the  sheep  should  be 
left  in  the  dip  long  enough  to  have  the  wool  saturated, 
and  the  skin  well  soaked  by  the  fluid.  A  quantity  of 
fresh  dip  should  be  kept  in  a  boiler,  to  renew  the  old 
dip  as  it  is  diminished  by  use. 

- •<>« - 

SHEEP-SHEARING  BENCH. 

Shearing  benches  will  be  found  desirable,  as  they  save 
the  wearisome  stooping  over  the  sheep.  A  bench  of  this 
kind  is  shown  in  figure  118.  It  is  made  of  stout  strips 
nailed  to  curved  cross-pieces.  These  are  best  bent  by 


steaming  them,  or  soaking  them  in  hot  water  for  some 
hours,  or  sponging  them  frequently  beside  a  hot  fire,  by 
which  the  fiber  is  much  softened  and  the  wood  is  warped 
permanently.  The  legs  are  about  twenty  inches  long. 
Any  dust  on  the  wool  falls  through  the  bars. 


EAR  TAG  PUNCH  FOR  MARKING  ANIMALS. 

A  punch,  which  is  struck  with  a  hammer,  and  even 
the  new  belt-punch  pattern,  now  so  generally  used,  in¬ 
flict  considerable  pain  ;  the  blow  m  one  case,  and  the 
very  considerable  pressure  needful  in  the  other,  are 
both  productive  of  suffering  which  can  just  as  well  be 
avoided.  Some  breeders  have  used  with  entire  satisfac- 


96 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


tion  a  very  simple  conti i  vance,  figure  119,  which  any  ma¬ 
chine  shop  can  furnish  from  the  engraving  and  descrip¬ 
tion  herewith.  Take  a  piece  of  steel  rod,  say  five  inches 

long  and  about  five-sixteenths  of  an 
inch  in  diameter.  Fix  this  in  a 
d  chuck  and  drill  a  hole  endwise  from 
a  to  1  in  the  engraving,  which  leaves 
that  end  a  hollow  tube,  the  walls 
of  which  are  about  one-thirty-second 
of  an  inch  thick,  supposing  a  one- 
quarter  inch  drill  has  been  used 
Possibly  a  little  smaller  hole  woula 
be  better.  Then  file  a  notch  in  one 
side  at  b,  so  that  it  will  clear  readily. 
Drill  a  small  hole,  c,  near  the  one 
end,  in  which  to  fit  a  short  piece  of 
smaller  wire,  d,  which  forms  a  con- 
/ig.  119.— ear  punch,  venient  gimlet-like  handle.  When 

finished,  have  it  nicely  filed  to  a 
caper  at  the  hollow  end,  so  as  to  form  a  thin  cutting 
edge,  which  must  be  kept  quite  sharp.  After  being 
tempered  it  forms  the  best  tool  for  its  work  ever  invented. 
To  use  the  punch,  hold  in  the  left  hand  a  large  cork, 
or  a  small  block  of  wood,  and  carefully  selecting  the 
proper  place  between  the  ribs  or  ridges  of  the  ear,  press 
the  punch  snugly  down,  give  it  a  quick,  sharp  twist,  just 
as  one  would  a  gimlet,  and  the  animal  scarcely  flinches 
at  all,  so  slight  is  the  pain0 


SEWING  UP  WOUNDS  IN  ANIMALS. 

The  winter  season  is  always  prolific  of  accidents,  chiefly 
among  horses,  which  are  often  badly  blemished  by  cuts 
which  are  left  to  heal  imperfectly,  without  any  assistance. 


THE  BATH,  PASTURE  AND  DAIRY.  «J? 

When  a  horse  with  sharp  calks  kicks  another,  or  when  an 
animal  falls  upon  ice,  the  skin  is  usually  cut  in  an  angu- 


Fig.  120. — NEEDLE  FOR  SEWING  UP  WOUNDS. 

lar  shape  and  the  flap  of  skin  hangs  over  in  an  unsightly 
manner,  or  in  a  torn  cut  the  skin  gapes  open  and  makes 
a  wound,  difficult  to  heal.  As  a  rule,  a  horse’s  wound 


Fig.  121. — WOUND  SEWED  TOGETHER. 

heals  very  rapidly  under,  the  simplest  treatment.  A 
curved  needle,  figure  120,  is  used  to  sew  up  severe  wounds 
as  shown  in  figure  121. 


CHAPTER  V. 

WELLS,  PUMPS,  CISTERNS  AND  FILTERS. 

WINDLASS  AND  TILTING  BUCKET. 

As  ordinary  pumps  draw  water  only  thirty-three  feet 
perpendicularly,  and  practically  only  about  thirty  feet 
from  the  water  surface,  force-pumps  or  windlasses  are  re¬ 
quired,  for  wells  thirty  or  more  feet  deep.  The  com¬ 
mon  windlass  with  stop  ratchet  serves  a  fair  purpose,  but 
requires  the  bucket  to  be  let  all  the  way  down  by  turn- 


98 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


ing  the  crank  backward.  Various  forms  of  brakes  have 
been  devised.  Figure  122  shows  the  construction  and  oper¬ 
ation  of  one.  Two  opposite  corner  pieces,  p,  extend  six 
feet  high  above  the  platform, and  a  diagonal  piece  connect- 


Fig.  122.— IMPROVED  WINDLASS. 

ing  their  upper  ends  supports,  a  grooved  pulley  carrying 
the  lifting  rope.  A  hook,  h,  turning  on  a  pivot,  is  thrown 
over  the  lever  b,  and  slid  along  it  far  enough  to  hold  the 
brake  against  the  windlass  firmly,  when  the  hand  is  re¬ 
moved.  A  swinging  iron  rod  catches  in  the  small  pin  on 
the  top  of  the  bucket  as  it  rises,  and  tips  the  water  into 
the  spout.  With  these  little  additions,  a  windlass  and 
bucket  are  better  than  a  pump,  as  the  water  is  drawn 
fresh,  with  no  tainting  from  the  pump  log.  The  actual 
force  required  to  raise  the  same  water  is  less  with  the 
windlass  than  with  the  pump,  as  less  power  is  required 
than  is  wasted  in  the  friction  of  the  close  fitting  valves 
c£  the  pump,  and  the  friction  of  the  water  against  the 
side  of  the  tube. 


■*o*- 


WELL-CURB  OF  STAVES. 

Figure  123  is  a  very  strong  and  durable  curb  made  of 
staves.  A  cooper  can  make  it,  setting  up  the  staves. 


WELLS,  PUMPS,  CISTERNS,  FILTERS. 


99 


which  are  one  and  one-quarter  inch  thick,  as  for  a  barrel, 
using  three  iron  hoops.  The  shaft  of  the  windlass  is  also 
of  iron,  to  which  a  wooden  cylinder  is  fastened  by  a 


Fig.  123. — A  “  BARREL  ”  WELL-CURB. 

couple  of  bolts  driven  through  the  wood  and  iron.  In 
making  the  windlass,  fashion  the  wood  to  the  right  size, 
and  then  split  open  the  cylinder,  cut  a  place  for  the 
shaft,  fit  it  in,  and  then  drive  bands  over  the  ends. 

»o*  ■  — 


HEMLOCK  FOR  WELL-CURBS. 

In  many  sections  of  country  stone  is  scarce,  and  plank 
is  used  for  curbing  wells.  Pine  lumber  gives  a  dis¬ 
agreeable  taste  to  water.  Hemlock  lumber  is  usually 
cheaper  than  pine,  and  can  be  obtained  at  most  lumber 
yards.  Five  hundred  feet  of  lumber  are  sufficient  for  a 
well  fourteen  feet  deep,  three  by  four  feet  outside  meas¬ 
urement.  The  four  posts  should  be  four  by  four  inches, 
and  the  planks  two  inches  thick,  fastened  on  with  heavy 
spikes.  Dig  down  until  there  is  danger  of  caving,  and 
then  put  in  the  curb,  with  planks  enough  on  to  reach  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  Afterwards  dig  the  earth  from  the 
inside  of  the  curb,  and  put  on  the  planks  as  fast  as 
needed.  In  some  soils  that  are  loose,  the  weight  of  the 


ICO 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


curb  will  settle  it  down  as  the  work  progresses  ;  should  it 
not,  drive  on  the  posts.  Such  a  curb,  made  of  sound 
hemlock,  will  last  for  years,  and  give  pleasant  water  from 
the  first. 

-  - 

SECURING  THE  WELL-BUCKET.- 

One  who  has  much  experience  with  well- 
buckets,  will  find  they  are  often  set  down 
outside  of  the  curb,  and  not  always  in  a 
clean  place.  In  this  manner  the  water  in 
the  well  may  be  fouled  with  clay,  if  with 
nothing  worse.  Every  person  should  be 
very  careful  to  avoid  anything  that  may 
in  any  degree  tend  to  impair  the  purity 
of  the  water  in  a  well.  One  way  to  secure 
this  end  is  to  have  the  bucket  always  in  a 
safe  place.  This  may  be  done  by  fixing 
a  cord  or  a  chain  to  the  beam  over  the 
pulley,  or  to  the  stirrup  of  the  pulley,  and 
fastening  a  hook  to  its  lower  end,  upon 
which  the  bucket  should  always  be  hung  when  not  in  use. 
This  arrangement  for  the  well-bucket  is  made  plain  by 
figure  124. 


CURB  WITH  A  BUCKET  SHELF. 

Another  device  for  keeping  the  bucket  clean  is  shown 
m  figure  125.  An  iron  plate  of  suitable  size  is  held  on 
the  end  of  an  arm  fastened  at  right  angles  to  an  upright 
iron  rod.  The  bottom  of  this  rod  rests  upon  an  iron  pro¬ 
jecting  from  the  corner  of  the  curb,  and  the  top  is  held 
in  place  by  an  eye-rod.  The  filled  bucket  is  raised  high 


WELLS,  PUMPS,  CISTERNS,  FILTERS. 


101 


enough  so  that  the  plate  is  placed  directly  under  it.  Let 
up  on  the  windlass  when  the  bucket  is  secure  on  the 


Fig.  125. — A  BUCKET  SHELF. 


plate,  and  it  may  be  swung  to  one  side  without  straining 
the  back,  or  danger  of  slipping  when  it  is  icy. 


♦o. 


COVERED  WELL-CURBS. 

Figure  126  is  a  desirable  covering  for  a  well-curb.  The 
upper  part  of  the  curb  is  floored  over,  except  about  afoot 
and  a  half  in  the  center.  Cleats,  r,  r,  are  nailed  along 
two  opposite  sides  of  the  bucket-holes  and  upon  these,  at 


Fig.  126. — A  WELL-CURB  COVERING. 


one  end,  is  placed  a  strip,  g.  A  wide  board  is  made  to 
fit  and  slide  in  the  grooves  formed  by  the  cleats.  The 


102 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


wooden  pins,  a ,  project  above  the  cover,  and  answer 

as  handles  for  sliding  it  as  desired. 

Figure  127  shows  a  covered  well  curb,  which  is  safe 
against  worms,  frogs  and  other  vermin  ;  and  also  against 
the  entrance  of  surface  water,  leaves  ane\  other  objects. 
The  wall  of  the  well  is  carried  up  to  the  surface  of  the 


ground,  and  clean  gravel  is  spread  around  it  and  beaten 
down  firmly.  A  frame  of  four  by  four-inch  chestnut  is 
then  bedded  down  level  with  this  surface,  and  a  floor  of 
two-inch  planks,  with  matched  edges,  is  laid  down,  pro¬ 
jecting  a  little  over  the  raised  gravel,  as  shown  in  the 
engraving.  The  ground  slopes  from  the  floor  in  all  di¬ 
rections,  and  should  be  neatly  sodded.  The  best  cov¬ 
ering,  being  indestructible,  is  a  large  flagstone  ;  or,  it  may 
be  made  with  several  pieces  and  bedded  in  mortar.  The 
curb  is  built  around  the  well,  large  enough  to  give  stand¬ 
ing  room  for  the  bucket  at  one  corner  ;  it  should  he  no 
higher  than  is  convenient  to  reach  over  it  to  use  the 
bucket.  A  spout  is  fixed  to  the  front,  into  which  the 
bucket  is  emptied  without  lifting  it  over  the  curb.  The 
curb  is  protected  on  top  with  one  fixed  and  one  hinged 
wire  gauze  covered  frame.  The  hinged  one  is  thrown 
back  and  rests  against  a  support,  if  desired,  as  shown, 
cr  it  may  fall  entirely  back  upon  the  other  one.  This 


WELLS,  PUMPS,  CISTERN'S,  FILTERS. 


103 


wire  gauze  admits  air,  but  keeps  out  leaves  and  other 
trash,  which  is  blown  about  by  the  winds.  An  open  curb 
like  this  keeps  the  air  in  the  well  pure,  the  water  clean, 
and  in  some  respects  it  is  preferable  to  a  pump. 


IMPURE  WATER  IN'  WELLS. 

It  becomes  more  and  more  evident  each  year  that  much 
of  the  sickness  prevalent  in  the  country  is  directly  at¬ 
tributable  to  the  quality  of  the  water.  By  carefully 
studying  the  matter,  it  is  found  that  in  nine  cases  out  of 
ten  typhoid  fevers  originate  in  families  whose  water  sup¬ 
ply  is  from  a  well,  into  which  impure  water  comes.  This 
may  be  from  the  farm  yard,  and  quite  generally  such  is 
the  case.  For  some  years  the  water  in  a  well  near  the 
house  may  be  pure  and  wholesome,  but  by-and-bye  the 
soil  between  it  and  the  barn-yard  will  become  so  im¬ 
pregnated  with  pollution  that  an  unhealthful  quality  will 
be  imparted  to  it,  and  disease  will  result  from  its  use. 
This  is  almost  sure  to  be  the  case  when  the  distance  be¬ 
tween  the  two  is  not  great,  because,  as  a  general  thing, 
the  bottom  of  the  well  is  lower  than  the  yard,  and  the 
drainage  from  the  latter  will  extend  in  all  directions 
through  the  most  porous  strata  of  soil,  and  when  it 
reaches  the  well,  it  will  naturally  flow  into  it  as  a  reser¬ 
voir.  No  matter  how  pure  the  water  may  have  been  when 
the  well  was  first  dug,  sooner  or  later  it  will  be  contami¬ 
nated  by  water  flowing  through  the  soil  from  barn-yards 
and  cesspools  located  anywhere  near  it.  A  case  is  on 
record  in  which  four  children  died  from  diphtheria. 
An  examination  by  the  physician  proved  that  the  slops 
from  the  kitchen  had  so  filled  the  soil  for  a  distance  of 
twenty  feet  between  the  back  door,  out  of  which  they 
were  thrown,  and  the  well,  that  the  water  in  the  latter 


104 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


was  polluted  by  foul  gases,  and  from  the  use  of  it  diph¬ 
theria  had  certainly  resulted.  When  making  a  well, 
have  it,  if  possible,  above  the  barn-yard,  and  let  the 
drainage  be  from  it  rather  than  into  it.  Arrange  a  place 
for  slops  with  a  cement  bottom  and  sides,  from  which 
glazed  pipes,  cemented  together,  allow  the  unhealthy 
matter  to  flow  off  and  away  from  the  well. 


HOOK  FOR  CLEANING  WELLS. 

Every  farmer  who  has  open  wells,  knows  how  difficult 
and  tiresome  a  task  it  is,  to  extricate  articles  which  have 
fallen  into  them,  but  figure  128  shows  a  contrivance 
which  has  been  used  successfully.  Find  the  depth  of  the 
well  and  cut  off  as  many  eight  or  ten-foot 
lengths,  four  inches  wide,  of  inch  boards, 
as  will,  when  fastened  together,  reach  to  the 
bottom  of  the  well.  Sharpen  the  end  of  one 
length  to  a  point,  as  a  in  the  engraving ; 
bolt  or  nail  a  cross-piece  ~b,  three  or  four 
inches  above  the  point  a,  making  one  side 
a  little  longer  than  the  other,  and  about 
three  inches  shorter  than  the  radius  of  the 
well.  Fasten  upon  the  cross-piece  three 
pieces  of  chain,  each  about  ten  inches  long, 
at  equal  distance  from  each  other.  Make 
double  hooks  out  of  one-eighth  inch  wire, 
or  old  bucket  bails ;  sharpen  the  ends,  and 
attach  them  to  the  chains.  Bolt  the  lengths 
of  boards  together  closely  ;  let  the  cross-piece  and  hooks 
down  into  the  well,  tightening  the  bolt  at  the  end  of 
each  length  as  it  passes,  until  the  point  reaches  the  bot¬ 
tom.  Now  turn  the  contrivance,  causing  the  hook  to 
describe  several  circles  at  the  bottom  of  the  well.  The 
article  sought  for  will  probably  be  caught  by  the  hooks  \ 


WELLS,  PUMPS,  CISTERNS,  FILTERS. 


105 


besides  a  good  many  other  things  not  looked  for  will 
perhaps  be  brought  up. 


A  NON-FREEZING  PUMP. 

One  of  the  simplest  methods  of  preventing  a  pump 
from  freezing  is  shown  in  figure  129.  The  pump  is 
boxed  from  the  platform  to  six  inches  or  more  above  the 
spout,  the  box  being  made  large  enough  to  admit  of  a 


Fig.  129. — PUMP  PROTECTOR. 


packing  of  sawdust  or  spent  tan  bark  between  it  and  the 
pump-stock  ;  or  the  pump-stock  can  be  well  wrapped 
with  heavy  hardware  paper  and  then  boxed  tightly, 
which  will  effectually  keep  out  almost  any  ordinary  de¬ 
gree  of  cold.  It  is  well  to  have  the  platform  double- 
boarded,  running  each  layer  of  boards  in  opposite  direc¬ 
tions,  and  mounding  up  well  around  the  platform  with 
earth,  to  still  further  protect  against  cold. 

•<>•- . - 


AGITATION"  OF  AIR  IN  WELLS. 

One  great  objection  to  the  old  style  of  log  pump  is  the 
non-ventilation  of  the  well.  The  platform  is  made  as 
tight  and  close-fitting  as  possible,  to  prevent  dirt,  vermin 


106 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


etc.,  from  getting  into  the  water.  By  the  use  of  a  chain 
pump  there  is  enough  to  agitate  the  air  and  water  and  to 
prevent  stagnation  in  either.  By  means  of  a  cheap, 
simple  contrivance,  shown  in  figure  130,  all  wells  may 


Fig.  130. — AGITATOR  FOR  WELL. 


have  an  abundant  supply  of  fresh  air.  In  the  illustra¬ 
tion,  h  is  the  wooden  or  metal  tube  of  a  common  lift  or 
force  pump ;  a,  is  the  handle  to  which  is  attached, 
three  or  four  inches  from  where  it  is  hinged  to  the  pump, 
a  small  wooden  or  metal  rod,  b.  If  this  rod  is  of  wood, 
it  need  not  be  over  three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
and  if  a  metal  one  three-eights  of  an  inch  will  answer. 
It  runs  from  the  handle  downward  to  and  along  side  of 
the  pump-tube,  shown  at  h,  passing  through  two  or 
more  closely-fitting  staples,  and  extends  to  within  two 
feet  of  the  high  water  mark.  It  is  provided  at  the  lower 
end  with  an  arm,  or  more  properly  speaking,  a  fan,  e} 


WELLS,  PUMPS,  CISTERNS,  FILTERS. 


10? 


which  should  be  of  some  light  material,  such  as  a  thin 
board  or  piece  of  sheet  iron  or  tin,  eight  or  nine  inches 
square.  It  is  evident  that  the  act  of  pumping  will  move 
this  fan  up  and  down,  from  three  to  five  inches  at  each 
stroke  of  the  handle,  producing  a  movement  of  the  air 
within  the  well.  By  continuing  the  rod  downward  for  a 
few  feet,  and  attaching  to  the  end  a  block  of  wood  two 
or  three  inches  square,  the  water  will  also  be  sufficiently 

agitated  to  prevent  stagnation. 

- KX - - 

DEEPENING  WELLS. 

Many  wells  which  fail  during  long  drouths,  could  be 
made,  by  deepening  a  few  feet,  to  yield  an  abundant  and 
unfailing  supply  of  water.  But  it  is  difficult  to  accom¬ 
plish  this  by  ordinary  means,  without  endangering  the 
wall  with  which  the  well  is  lined.  Figures  131  to  135  show 
a  set  of  appliances  by  which  the  work  may  be  safely  done 
without  danger  to  the  wall,  even  in  sandy  or  gravelly 
soil.  Figure  131  is  a  sort  of  well-auger  of  galvanized 
iron,  five  inches  in  diameter,  and  of  any  desired  length, 
from  fourteen  to  twenty  inches.  Before  it  is  bent  in 
shape,  a  bias  strip  is  cut  from  its  lower  edge,  giving  it 
the  shape  shown  in  the  engraving.  The  rod  by  which  it 
is  worked  is  of  wrought  iron  pipe  one  inch  in  diameter. 
A  X  is  screwed  on  its  summit,  to  receive  the  handle,  of 
ash,  or  other  tough  wood.  Figure  132  is  a  cylinder,  also 
of  galvanized  sheet-iron,  six  inches  in  diameter  and  two 
feet  long.  It  is  reinforced  at  each  end  by  iron  bands 
riveted  on,  and  is  perforated  throughout  with  thin  slits 
for  the  admission  of  water  when  in  position.  Figure  133 
is  the  head  of  the  auger.  It  is  of  inch  board,  upon 
which  is  screwed  a  flange  with  a  thread,  to  receive  the 
lower  end  of  the  hollow  rod.  Figure  135  represents  a 
cross-section  of  this  head-piece.  At  the  lower  end  of  the 


108 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


auger -tube  is  the  piece  shown  in  figure  134.  This  is  a 
circular  piece  of  galvanized  iron,  tint  five  inches  in  di¬ 
ameter,  slitted  from  one  side  to  the  center,  and  the  cut 
edges  bent  to  spiral  or  screw-shape.  This  is  soldered 


Fig.  131. — well  Fig.  132. — cylin- 

AUGER.  C  DER. 


Fig.  133. 


Fig.  135. 


into  the  lower  end  of  the  auger-tube,  as  shown  by  dotted 
lines  in  figure  131.  A  large  hole  on  one  side  near  the 
top,  not  shown  in  the  engraving,  serves  to  empty  the 
tube  of  sand  and  dirt.  To  operate  this,  the  cylinder  is 
first  pushed  down  as  far  as  practicable-  into  the  bottom 
of  the  well.  With  the  auger  the  earth  is  removed  from 
inside  the  cylinder.  As  the  work  of  excavation  proceeds, 
the  cylinder  is  pushed  down  until  its  upper  edge  is  level 
with  the  bottom  of  the  well.  If  a  sufficient  vein  of 
water  is  not  then  reached,  the  boring  goes  on,  and  a 


WELLS,  PUMPS,  CISTERNS,  FILTERS.  lOO 

second  cylinder  follows  the  first.  This  makes  an  addi¬ 
tional  depth  of  four  feet,  which  is  generally  sufficient. 
If  not,  the  process  can  be  continued  by  providing  ad¬ 
ditional  cylinders,  and  splicing  the  auger-stem  until  a 
permanent  water-vein  is  found. 


DIGGING  A  WELL. 

A  hole  is  dug  down  and  the  earth  thrown  out  as  far 
as  could  be  done,  and  then  a  ladder  is  rigged  up  on 
three  stakes  as  shown  in  figure  136.  A  pulley  is  at¬ 
tached  to  one  round,  a  cord  thrown  over  it  and  fastened 


Fig.  136.— DIGGING  A  DAKOTA  WELL. 

to  a  pail,  the  other  end  of  the  rope  reaching  into  the  well. 
The  pail  is  filled  and  drawn  to  the  surface,  where  it 
is  swung  to  one  side,  emptied  and  returned  for  an¬ 
other  load.  The  upper  end  of  the  ladder  should  be 
elevated  about  six  feet  above  the  ground. 


HOW  TO  BUILD  A  CISTERN. 

Every  part  around  the  surface  of  a  cistern  should  be 
made  close.  The  beams  which  support  the  floor  should 
be  bedded  in  the  wall,  or  shoulder  of  the  cistern,  and 


HO 


IF  ARM  APPLIANCES. 


covered  with  lime  or  cement  mortar,  leaving  a  smooth 
surface  all  around  the  first  floor.  This  should  then  be 
covered  with  a  second  floor,  raised  eight  or  ten  inches  on 
a  frame  of  two  by  ten  joists,  made  of  cedar  or  chestnut. 


The  earth  should  be  packed  closely  against  this  frame, 
and  the  top  floor  should  extend  a  few  inches  beyond  the 
frame  all  around.  The  cistern  is  then  frost  and  vermin 
proof.  Another  important  point  is  to  get  rid  of  the  sed¬ 
iment  that  gathers  at  the  bottom  of  every  cistern.  This 
is  done  by  carrying  the  overflow  pipe  to  the  bottom  of 
the  cistern  on  a  line  with  the  inlet  pipe,  and  thus  form¬ 
ing  a  current  which  disturbs  the  sediment  and  carries  it 
into  the  overflow.  This  is  shown  in  figure  137,  also  the 
arrangement  of  the  draw-pipe,  which  should  have  a  fine 
wire  strainer  on  the  end,  and  should  rest  upon  a  support 
near  the  bottom  of  a  fine  strainer,  at  least  two  feet  high. 
A  piece  of  one-quarter  inch  mesh  of  galvanized  wire 
gauze,  bent  into  a  pipe  a  foot  in  diameter,  and  covered 


WELLS,  PUMPS,  CISTERKS,  FILTERS.  Ill 

with  thick  flannel  cloth,  doubled,  makes  a  filter  for  the 
water. 

- *o« - 


WATER  IK  THE  BARK  YARD. 

Water  in  the  barn  yard  is  a  great  economy  and  con¬ 
venience  ;  by  a  little  management  it  can  be  secured  with 
ease.  The  difficulties  in  the  way,  are  chiefly  in  bringing 
the  water  down  hill,  over  an  elevation  midway,  and 


Fig.  138.— CONVEYING  WATER  BY  SIPHON. 

in  bringing  it  up  hill,  from  a  spring  or  well  below  the 
level.  In  the  former  case,  a  siphon  must  be  used,  as 
shown  in  figure  138.  It  consists  of  a  pipe,  one  end  of 
which  is  under  the  surface  of  the  water  in  a  well  or 
spring,  and  carried  over  a  ridge,  and  down  a  slope,  to  a 
lower  level.  This  method  is  open  to  one  objection, 
which  nearly  always  gives  trouble.  There  is  more  or 
less  air  dissolved  in  water;  this  dissolved  air  escapes, 
as  the  water  is  flowing  through  the  pipe,  and  gathers  at 
the  highest  point,  where  it  stops  the  flow.  To  remove 
this  air,  the  following  arrangement  is  made.  A  short 
pipe,  furnished  with  a  stop  cock  and  a  funnel,  is  fitted 
to  the  highest  point  of  the  siphon.  When  the  flow 
begins  to  be  obstructed  by  air,  the  stop  cock  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  pipe  is  shut,  and  that  at  the  top  is  opened. 


112 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


The  pipe  is  then  filled  with  water  through  the  funnel. 
The  water  is  held  in  the  pipe  by  a  check  valve  at 
the  bottom  of  the  well  pipe.  The  air  is  thus  driven  out 
of  the  siphon,  and  the  top  stop- cock  is  shut.  The  flow 
is  started  by  opening  the  lower  stop-cock,  and  all  goes 


Fig.  139. — RAISING  WATER  BY  FORCE  PUMP. 

on  again,  until  the  air  gathers  in  the  pipe  once  more, 
when  the  remedy  is  repeated.  To  draw  water  up  hill, 
by  a  pump,  the  method  seen  in  figure  139  is  used  :  The 
pipe,  having  a  check  valve  at  the  bottom,  is  laid  from 
the  spring,  up  the  incline,  and  connected  with  a  force 
pump,  in  a  dry  well,  at  the  top.  Water  can  he  raised  in 
this  manner,  from  about  twenty-eight  or  thirty  feet 
below  the  bottom  of  the  dry  well,  and  for  a  distance  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty,  or  three  hundred  feet,  or  more. 
The  linear  distance  is  not  an  obstacle,  except  for  the  fric¬ 
tion  in  the  pipes  ;  it  is  the  perpendicular  height  alone, 
which  gives  serious  trouble,  and  about  twenty-eight  or 
thirty  feet,  is  all  that  can  be  overcome  by  means  of  a 
suction  pump.  A  force  pump  is  useful  to  raise  the  water 
eight  or  ten  feet  more  than  this,  when  necessary.  This 
method  is  shown  in  the  engraving. 

-  »o« - 

WOODEN  WATER,  PIPES. 

For  conveying  water  any  distances  less  than  fifteen 
rods,  and  where  the  amount  desired  is  greater  than  can 


WELLS,  PUMPS,  CISTEMS,  FILTERS.  113 

be  supplied  by  a  half-inch  pipe,  wooden  tubing  will  be 
found  cheaper  than  iron,  lead,  or  other  metallic  pipes. 
Wooden  tubing,  of  from  one  and  a  quarter  to  two-inch 
bore,  may  be  obtained  of  all  hardware  dealers.  In  pur¬ 
chasing  observe  that  the  ends  are  iron -banded,  to  prevent 
splitting  when  placed  together,  and  to  prevent  the  tubes 
from  bursting  when  under  a  heavy  head  of  water.  Be¬ 
fore  the  pipe  is  laid,  it  is  best  to  give  it  one  or  two  coats 
of  oil ;  even  crude  petroleum  will  do  ;  this  adds  greatly 
to  the  durability.  In  pipes  through  which  there  is  a 
constant  flow  of  water,  there  is  little  danger  of  decay  ;  in 
fact,  some  old-fashioned  pump  logs  which  have  been  re¬ 
moved  after  nearly  fifty  years  of  use,  were  found  sound 
on  the  inside.  Wooden,  as  well  as  other  pipes  convey¬ 
ing  water,  should  be  laid  below  the  frost  line.  If  the 
water  is  intended  for  drinking  purposes,  place  the  pipe 
at  least  three  feet  under  ground,  and  if  in  sandy,  porous 
soils,  to  a  still  greater  depth.  After  the  pipe  is  in  posi¬ 
tion,  and  before  the  water  is  admitted,  pour  hot  coal-tar 
over  it,  especially  at  each  joint,  which  is  readily  done  by 
using  a  watering  pot  or  an  old  tea  or  coffee-pot.  Always 
test  wooden  and  other  pipes  after  they  are  laid,  by  ad¬ 
mitting  water  before  covering  them  with  soil,  in  order 
that  a  leak,  if  found,  may  be  easily  stopped. 

■  *0* 


FILTERS  FOR  FAMILY  USE. 

Almost  every  country  store  is  in  more  or  less  direct 
communication  with  some  pottery,  where  salt-glazed 
ware  is  made.  Lead-glazed  ware  should  be  avoided,  but 
the  salt-glazed  is  both  cheap  and  safe.  Any  pottery  will 
furnish  to  order,  or  they  may  have  them  on  hand,  five  or 
six  gallon  cylindrical  jars  of  glazed  ware,  having  a  spigot 
hole  in  the  side  close  to  the  bottom,  and  the  usual  jar  lid. 
A  common  flower  pot  of  large  size  should  be  selected, 


114 


farm:  appliances. 


which  will  jflst  fit  in  the  top  of  the  jar,  as  shown  in 
figure  140.  This  pot  is  the  filter,  and  it  is  thus  ar¬ 
ranged  :  The  bottom  is  covered  by  a  circular  piece  of 


Fig.  141. 


Fig.  140. 


FARM  WATER  FILTER. 


A  SERVICEABLE  FILTER. 


thick  woolen  felt,  or  two  or  three  pieces  of  blanket, 
upon  this  is  placed  a  layer  an  inch  thick  of  well-washed 
sand.  Note  that  the  sand,  being  well  washed,  the  felt 
or  blanket  pieces  should  be  so  also.  Now  upon  the  sand, 
freshly  burned,  soft  wood  charcoal,  which  should  be 
freshly  heated,  free  from  all  dust,  and  about  the  size  of 
grains  of  wheat,  should  be  laid  in  to  the  depth  of  six 
inches  more,  and  upon  this  an  inch  of  sand,  and  another 
pad  of  felt  or  blanket  to  top  off  with.  Fit  up  two 
flower  pots  for  each  filter,  and  keep  those  not  in  use 
covered  and  clean.  The  water  is  poured  into  the  flower 
pot.  A  clean  lump  of  clear  ice,  whole  or  broken  up, 
may  be  placed  in  the  jar  below  the  pot,  and  then  the 
water  is  fit  for  anybody’s  use. 

The  filter  shown  in  figure  141  is  made  of  a  stout 
oak  barrel  with  iron  hoops.  The  head  is  taken  out 


WELLS,  PUMPS,  CISTERMS,  FILTERS. 


115 


carefully  and  a  number  of  boles  are  bored  through 
it  with  a  half-inch  auger,  then  five  or  six  oaken  blocks, 
about  three  inches  long,  are  nailed  to  the  under  side. 
It  is  then  placed  in  the  barrel  for  a  false  bottom. 
On  this  spread  a  layer  of  coarse  gravel  about  two 
inches  thick,  then  another  of  finer  gravel  ;  on  this 
spread  eight  inches  of  charcoal  ;  then  add  a  six-inch 
layer  of  gravel,  and  on  top  place  washed  sand  up  to 
within  an  inch  of  the  overflow  pipe.  Over  this  sand  fit 
in  the  barrel  a  cover  made  of  inch  pine  boards.  In  the 
center  of  this  cut  an  opening  ten  inches  square.  Then 
make  a  low  frame  a  little  larger  than  the  opening,  cover 
both  sides  with  cheese  cloth,  and  fasten  securely  over  the 
open  space  in  the  head,  but  in  such  a  manner  that  it  can 
be  easily  removed  again.  The  object  of  this  covering 
being  to  prevent  sand  from  escaping  into  the  cistern,  it 
becomes  sometimes  necessary,  after  heavy  rains,  to  take 
up  the  frame  and  wash  the  cloth. 

The  rain  water  flows  into  the  barrel  through  a  pipe 
between  the  real  and  the  false  bottom.  About  four  feet 
above  the  cask  the  leader  from  the  roof  should  enter  a 
tin  box,  with  a  partition  in  the  middle  that  comes  within 
about  two  inches  of  the  top.  This  partition  separates 
the  pipe  that  flows  into  the  cask  from  the  waste  pipe, 
and  the  leader  from  the  roof  can  be  made  to  discharge  on 
either  side,  as  may  be  desired.  Near  the  bottom 
of  the  barrel  should  be  a  large  faucet  or  bung-hole, 
through  which  all  the  water  may  be  drawn  off  and 
the  filter  cleaned.  By  pulling  out  the  bung  or  opening 
the  faucet,  and,  after  the  water  has  run  out,  pouring 
several  bucketfuls  of  water  on  the  sand  at  the  top,  all 
impurities  are  washed  out  and  carried  off  ;  in  fact,  it  is 
best  to  let  out  the  water  after  every  rain.  If  this  filter 
is  well  made,  and  the  cask  painted,  it  will  last  many 
years  and  do  good  service. 


116 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


CONNECTING  CISTERNS. 

When  it  is  desired  to  connect  a  new  cistern  with  an 
old  one  without  loss  of  water,  it  can  be  done  as  shown  in 
figure  142.  Whatever  the  distance  apart,  provide  a  two- 


Fig.  142. — CONNECTING  TWO  CISTERNS. 

inch  iron  pipe,  a,  long  enough  to  extend  from  the  inside 
of  the  new  well  to  the  outside  of  the  old  one,  and  fit 
upon  the  right  end  of  it  by  screw  thread  the  pipe,  b, 
long  enough  to  extend  well  through  the  old  wall.  Build 
a  into  the  new  well,  and  close  its  left  end  with  a  wooden 
plug,  p.  When  ready,  pump  or  syphon  the  water  from 
the  old  to  the  new  cistern.  Then  open  the  old  Avail, 
screw  b  on  to  a,  and  cement  around  b.  When  ready, 
with  a  rod  or  bar,  knock  out  the  plug,  which  will  float  to 
the  top,  and  the  water  will  stand  at  a  level  in  both  cis¬ 
terns.  A  connecting  five  or  six-inch  glaze  ware  or  iron 
pipe,  c,  should  be  put  in  on  a  level  Avith  the  overflow 
pipe,  o.  One  pump  and  one  overflow  pipe  answer  for 
both  cisterns. 


WELLS,  PUMPS,  CISTERNS,  FILTERS. 


117 


BUILD  AND  DIMENSION  OE  CISTERNS. 

In  a  stiff  clay  soil  a  small  cistern  of  twenty  to  forty 
barrels  capacity  might  be  safely  cemented  directly  to  the 
earth,  but  in  ordinary  soils  and  for  larger  cisterns,  a  good 
four-inch-wall  of  hard  brick  is  on  the  whole  the  cheap¬ 
est.  It  is  important  to  make  the  excavation  smooth,  so 
that  the  bricks  can  be  pressed  firmly  against  the  earth  ; 
otherwise  these  will  be  pushed  out  and  the  cement  cracked, 
causing  a  leak.  As  to  the  dimensions,  a  cistern  should 
be  about  one-fourth  deeper  below  the  spring  of  the  arch, 
than  its  width  inside.  By  this  rule  a  cistern  eight  feet 
wide  will  be  ten  feet  deep  below  the  arch.  At  the  top  is 
a  cast  iron  ring,  twenty  inches  in  diameter,  for  the  man¬ 
hole,  covered  with  a  tight  fitting  cast  iron  lid.  The 
ring  has  a  flange  two  inches  wide  extending  out  over  the 
brick.  The  capacity  of  a  cistern  needed  to  save  all  the 
water  from  a  given  extent  of  roof,  will  depend  on  the 
total  annual  rainfall,  its  distribution  throughout  the 
year,  and  the  regularity  with  which  it  is  used.  A  roof 
ninety  feet  by  twenty  feet  contains  eighteen  hundred 
square  feet.  This  is  supposed  to  be  the  measure  of  the 
building  on  the  ground  and  not  the  shingled  surface.  In 
the  vicinity  of  New  York  the  average  annual  rainfall  is 
about  forty-two  inches,  or  three  and  a  half  feet.  This 
■would  give  sixty-three  hundred  cubic  feet  of  water  (1,800 
ft.  X  31/2=6,300).  Since  in  that  climate  the  rain  is  dis¬ 
tributed  pretty  regularly  through  the  year,  it  would  only 
be  necessary  to  provide  storage  capacity  for  about  one-third 
of  the  rainfall  of  the  year,  or  twenty-one  hundred  cubic 
feet.  This  divided  by  four  and  one-fifth  (the  approxi¬ 
mate  number  of  cubic  feet  in  a  barrel  of  thirty-one  and 
a  half  gallons)  gives  five  hundred  barrels,  and  this  quantity 
of  water  demands  a  cistern,  thirteen  feet  diameter,  to  be 
nearly  sixteen  feet  deep  below  the  arch,  or  a  square  one, 
thirteen  feet  across,  to  be  nearly  twelve  and  a  half  feet 


118 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


deep  ;  or  around  one,  fifteen  feet  in  diameter,  would  need 
to  be  about  twelve  feet  deep.  In  the  far  West — in  fact, 
in  most  places  west  of  the  Missouri — the  rainfall  is 
largely  during  the  six  months  beginning  with  March, 
and  cisterns  need  a  greater  storage  capacity. 


CISTERNS  WITH  FILTERS. 

Complaints  are  frequent  of  the  impure  water  of  cis¬ 
terns.  This  is  inevitable  under  the  careless  manage¬ 
ment  of  these  useful  additions  to  the  water  supply,  and 
is  a  fruitful  source  of  what  are  called  “  malarial  dis¬ 


eases.”  A  roof  gathers  a  large  quantity  of  impure  mat¬ 
ter,  dead  insects,  droppings  of  birds,  dust,  dead  leaves, 
pollen  from  trees,  etc.,  etc.,  all  of  which  are  washed  into 
the  cistern,  unless  some  means  are  taken  to  prevent  it. 
Even  then  the  water  should  be  filtered  before  it  is  used 
for  culinary  purposes.  One  way  of  preventing  foul  mat¬ 
ter  from  entering  the  cistern,  is  to  have  the  leader  mov- 


WELLS,  PUMPS,  CISTERNS,  FILTERS. 


119 


able,  and  swing  from  a  waste  pipe  to  the  cistern  pipe,  shown 
on  the  left  side  of  figure  143.  In  dry  weather  the  pipe 


Fig.  144. — COMPLETE  CISTERN  AND  FILTER. 


is  turned  over  the  waste,  and  after  the  rain  has  fallen  for 
a  sufficient  time  to  wash  oS  the  roofs  and  gutters,  it  is 
turned  into  the  cistern  pipe.  The  cistern,  figure  143  is 
provided  with  a  soft  brick  wall  laid  in  cement,  through 
which  the  water  filters,  coming  out  by  the  pump  per¬ 
fectly  pure,  and  free  from  unpleasant  odors.  Rain  water 


- n _ i - 

Fig.  145. — FILTER  FOR  A  BARN  CISTERN. 


standing  for  months  in  impurities  and  filth,  cannot  al¬ 
ways  be  purified  by  simply  soaking  through  a  brick  wall, 


120 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


but  should  be  filtered  as  soon  as  it  falls.  The  main  cis¬ 
tern,  figure  144,  is  made  egg-shaped,  to  hold  one  hun¬ 
dred  barrels.  The  filter  is  fiat-bottomed.  The  end  of 
the  pipe  from  the  filter  to  the  cistern  is  built  solid 


Fig.  146. — A  HOUSE  FILTERING  CISTERN. 


around  the  end  with  brick.  All  water  has  to  pass 
through  the  brick.  The  filter  is  filled  half  full  with 
charcoal,  sand  and  gravel  in  layers — one  layer  of  each — 
the  charcoal  covering  the  bricks,  then  sand  and  gravel 
on  top.  The  water,  as  soon  as  it  falls,  begins  to  filter 
and  passes  into  the  cistern,  where  A  stands  free  from 
impurities.  The  filter  is  built  to  hold  twenty-five  barrels 
of  water,  but  is  half  full  of  the  filtering  material. 

Figure  145  shows  a  good  filter  for  a  barn  cistern.  The 
top  of  it  consists  of  broken  stones,  with  a  flat  stone  to 
receive  the  influx,  so  placed  as  to  prevent  heavy  rains 
from  disturbing  the  broken  stones.  This  has  a  cover, 
movable  in  part,  to  permit  it  to  be  cleaned  out  occasion¬ 
ally.  Figure  146  is  a  filtering  cistern  for  a  house.  The 
inlet  pipe  is  at  a,  the  draw  pipe  is  at  c.  and  this  is  con- 


WELLS,  PUMPS,  CISTERNS,  FILTERS. 


121 


nected  with  a  set  of  cross-pipes,  laid  in  the  coarse  gravel 
in  the  bottom,  and  pierced  with  a  number  of  small  holes. 


Fig.  147.— PIPES  FOR  HOUSE  CISTERN. 


as  seen  in  figure  147,  by  which  the  outflow  is  made  quite 
easy  and  abundant. 


CHAPTER  YI. 

APPLIANCES  FOR  HANDLING  HAY  AND  CORN 

FODDER. 

REVOLVING  HORSE  RAKE. 

Figure  148  shows  a  strong,  cheap  and  efficient  horse 
rake.  It  is  especially  useful  in  raking  corn-stalks  that 
have  been  cut  by  a  mower  or  otherwise,  and  tall  reeds 
and  other  rubbish,  which  it  is  desirous  to  rake  into  wind¬ 
rows  preparatory  to  burning.  It  can  also  be  adapted  to 
the  raking  of  hay  and  straw,  by  making  the  teeth  lighter 
and  placing  them  six  inches  or  less  apart. 

Figure  149  represents  the  rake  and  shafts,  a  being  a 
6ix  by  six-inch  beam,  ten  feet  long.  This  revolving  rake 


m 


FAPM  APPLIANCES. 


can  be  made  longer  or  shorter  as  desired,  but  when  more 
than  nine  or  ten  feet  long,  it  is  not  easily  drawn  through 
ordinary  farm  gates.  The  teeth  are  made  of  some  kind 
of  tough  wood,  well  seasoned,  two  inches  square,  and  the 


Fig.  148. — BODY  OF  BAKE. 


pieces  cut  about  four  feet  long.  They  are  then  tapered 
slightly  toward  the  ends,  and  trimmed  in  the  middle  to 
fit  in  holes  bored  with  a  two-inch  auger  ;  thus  prepared, 
they  are  inserted  one  foot  apart,  and  secured  in  place 
with  light  bolts.  At  b,  b,  the  beam  is  rounded  to  form 
journals,  and  around  these  the  ends  of  the  shafts  can  be 


Fig.  149. — BAKE  WITH  SHAFTS. 

bent,  as  seen  in  figure  149,  or  pieces  of  old  iron,  as  the 
tire  of  an  old  wheel,  may  be  curved  round  and  secured  to 
the  shafts.  Two  stout  pieces  of  the  same  length  as  the 
teeth,  and  at  right  angle  to  those,  are  inserted  between 
the  shafts.  These  rest  on  the  lever,  d ,  when  the  rake  is 


HANDLING  HAY  AtfD  CORK  FODDER. 


123 


moving,  and  serve  to  hold  it  in  position  with  the  teeth 
pointed  toward  the  ground.  The  lever  is  hinged  to  a 
shaft  at  e  by  a  bolt,  and  by  pulling  the  handle,  /,  when 
in  motion,  the  support  is  taken  from  the  check  teeth. 


and  the  rake  turns,  depositing  its  load,  and  bringing  the 
other  row  of  teeth  to  the  ground. 

An  implement  of  the  above  dimensions  is  too  heavy 
for  one  horse;  hence  the  shafts  are  intended  to  be  hooked 
to  the  hind  axle  of  a  naked  wagon,  and  thus  worked  by  a 
team,  the  driver  riding  on  the  wagon  and  operating  the 
lever  whenever  the  rake  is  full. 

The  rake  can  also  be  made  with  a  pole,  so  as  to  hitch 
a  team  directly  to  it,  as  shown  in  figure  150.  The  beam 
should  then  have  three  journals  instead  of  two,  and  the 
number  of  teeth  even,  so  that  the  pole  can  be  attached  at 
the  middle. 


124 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


CARE  OF  MOWING  MACHINES. 

Take  up  the  wear  of  the  boxes  by  removing  the  stuffing. 
If  the  journals  have  too  much  play  they  cut  fast.  But  if 
the  boxes  fit  too  closely,  they  will  heat.  The  thickness 
of  newspaper  all  around  each  is  sufficient  play.  Examine 
all  the  nuts  and  tighten  any  that  are  loose.  A  loose  nut 
will  cause  the  machine  to  wear  or  break;  and  will  lose 
off  in  the  field,  causing  a  vexatious  delay  at  the  least.  If 
any  nut  is  very  loose,  place  a  leather  washer  under  it, 
and  sink  the  nut  in.  Make  quite  sure  that  there  is  no 
weak  place  in  the  whiffletrees.  They  always  break  at  the 
wrong  tine,  and  may  allow  the  machine  and  the  team 
to  mire  down  in  a  muddy  spot.  Mind  the  sickles.  Every 
mower  should  have  three  sickles,  so  that  as  soon  as  one 
becomes  dulled,  another  may  be  put  in  its  place.  A  dull 
sickle  does  “ragged’’  cutting,  and  will  increase  the  wear 
and  draft  of  the  machine  one  half.  Observe  if  the  sickle 
bar  is  not  warped;  and  if  the  points  of  the  sections  are  in 
a  perfectly  straight  line.  A  section  out  of  line  will  wear 
fast  and  increase  the  draft.  Try  the  sections  and  tighten 
any  that  are  loose.  A  loose  section  is  apt  to  cause  a 
breakage.  A  loose  guard  will  produce  the  same  result. 
See  that  the  tool-box  contains  claw-hammer,  pincers, 
file,  sections,  rivets,  bolts,  wire  and  nails  ;  the  lack  of 
these  will  often  require  a  trip  from  the  field  to  the  tool- 
house.  If  any  journals  have  rusted,  use  coal  oil,  every 
few  minutes,  for  the  first  half  hour,  driving  slowly  ;  and 
it  is  well  to  use  coal  oil  on  the  track  of  the  sickle,  to 
clear  off  the  gum  that  gathers  from  the  grass.  The 
machine  oil  often  sold  is  poor  stuff  ;  it  is  frequently  neces¬ 
sary  to  add  castor  oil  to  give  it  body.  If  too  much  of 
the  latter  is  used,  however,  it  will  gum.  There  is  nothing 
more  satisfactory  than  lard  (unsalted)  with  castor  oil 
added  to  give  it  a  little  body.  If  the  lard  is  taken  to 
the  field  hot,  in  the  morning,  the  sun  will  keep  it  liqui- 


HANDLING  HAY  AND  CORN  FODDER. 


125 


fied  during  the  day.  It  is  not  economy  to  be  sparing  in 
the  use  of  oil ;  it  should  be  applied  quite  often,  and  but 
little  at  a  time.  When  much  of  it  is  applied  at  once,  it 
runs  from  the  journals,  and  holds  dust,  increasing  in¬ 
stead  of  diminishing  the  wear.  When  stopping  at  noon, 
throw  some  grass  over  the  sickle  and  the  driver  journals, 
if  you  cannot  drive  the  machine  into  the  shade.  Do  not 
mow  too  close.  It  dulls  and  wears  the  sickle,  and  gains 
nothing — what  is  gained  in  hay  is  more  than  lost  in  the 
aftermath.  Drive  slowly,  but  steadily,  and  thus  get 
the  most  done  with  least  wear  of  team  and  machine. 
Driving  “  in  spurts  ”  for  half  a  day  will  wear  the  machine 
more  than  steady  driving  for  two  days.  Keep  the  edges 
of  the  grass  straight ;  in  other  words,  cut  the  full  width 
of  the  sickle,  for  otherwise  you  cannot  do  economical 
work.  Using  a  mower  properly  lengthens  its  life  and  in¬ 
creases  the  amount  of  work  it  will  do  in  a  day. 

-  ■■■  -•<>•  - 

SWEEP  FOR  GATHERING  HAY. 


The  implement  shown  in  figure  151  is  made  by  having 
two  by  four  inch  pieces  of  twelve  feet  long  for  teeth. 


held  together  by  apiece  of  two  by  six  inch  stuff,  sixteen 
feet  long,  with  a  boh  through  each  tooth;  two  fence  strips 


126 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


of  inch  stuff,  six  inches  wide,  keep  them  from  spreading. 
Three  or  four  upright  two  by  four  posts,  four  feet  high, 
with  cross  fence  strips,  are  set  on  the  main  beam.  This 
holds  the  hay,  and  is  braced  at  each  end,  as  shown  in  the 
engraving.  There  is  on  the  bottom  of  each  end  runner, 
a  shoe  one  foot  wide,  two  inches  thick,  and  two  or  three 
feet  long,  to  give  the  teeth  a  downward  inclination.  The 
teeth  are  tapered  from  the  underside  at  each  end,  so  as 
not  to  run  into  the  ground.  There  is  an  iron  ring  at  the 
bottom  of  each  end  post,  to  which  ropes  are  fastened. 
These  ropes  are  sixteen  feet  long  or  more,  and  a  whiffle- 
tree  is  attached  to  the  end  of  each.  This  contrivance 
takes  up  the  hay  to  the  stack,  and  picks  up  any  dropped 
hay  going  back. 


HAULING  HAY  OR  STALKS. 

Figure  152  shows  a  device  for  hauling  an  entire  cock 
of  hay.  It  is  made  thus:  First,  get  a  pole,  elm  if  pos¬ 
sible,  ten  or  eleven  feet  long,  and  about  four  inches 
through  at  the  butt.  Peel  off  the  bark,  trim  smooth, 


Fig.  152. — DEVICE  FOR  HAULING  HAT  OR  STALKS. 

and  sharpen  to  a  point.  Bore  two  holes  near  each  other 
at  the  butt;  pass  a  short  piece  of  rope  through  the  pole, 
and  tie  to  the  link  on  a  single  tree.  Bore  another  hole  a 
foot  from  the  end,  and  pass  through  it  a  long  one-inch 
rope,  shorter  on  one  side,  and  tie  a  knot  on  the  rope  on 
each  side  of  the  pole.  When  ready  to  commence  hauling 
push  the  pole  under  the  liav-cock,  then  take  the  long  end 
of  the  rope,  and  pass  it  along  side  the  hay-cock,  and 


HANDLING  HAY  AND  CORN  FODDER. 


127 


under  the  point  of  the  pole,  then  through  a  loop  in  the 
short  end,  and  draw  tight  and  tie.  By  this  method,  no 
hay  is  lost  on  the  way;  it  cannot  roll  over,  nor  get  tangled. 
There  is  no  waste,  no  time  is  lost,  and  the  hay  is  laid  at 
the  feet  of  the  pitcher  just  as  it  stood  in  the  field.  This 
device  may  also  be  used  for  hauling  corn  fodder  or  un¬ 
husked  stooks. 

— - - 


DERRICK  FOR  STACKING. 

Figure  153  shows  a  derrick,  which  is  very  convenient 
in  stacking  hay  out-doors.  The  two  side-pieces  are  mor¬ 


tised  into  the  sill  ;  the  mast,  or  top  stick,  is  not  fastened, 
hence  it  can  be  taken  out  when  moving  any  great  dis¬ 
tance.  When  moving  only  a  few  feet,  hitch  a  horse  to 
the  sill,  and  drag  it  endways  without  taking  it  down,  to 
where  another  stack  is  to  be.  The  derrick  and  horse  ar§ 


128 


FAIIM  APPLIANCES. 


on  one  side  of  the  stack,  and  the  load  of  hay  on  the 
other.  The  derrick  stands  at  almost  forty-five  degrees, 
and  is  held  in  place  by  guy  ropes — two  opposite  to  the 
load,  and  one  on  the  same  side  as  the  load.  A  solid 
piece  of  plank  is  used  for  the  foot  of  the  mast,  which  is 
mortised  into  it.  It  is  best  to  put  it  together  with  bolts. 


HAY  CARRIER  FOR  HORSE  FORK. 

Figure  154  shows  an  ingenious  device  for  returning  a 
horse  hay-fork  from  the  hay-mow  to  the  loaded  wagon. 
It  consists  of  a  wire  rope,  C ,  stretched  from  the  end 
of  the  track,  A,  to  a  wooden  cylinder,  B,  four  inches  in 


Fig.  154.— IMPROVED  HAY-CARRIER. 


diameter  and  sixteen  inches  long,  around  which  a  few 
turns  are  given.  Two  short  stakes,  D,  D,  cut  from  a 
four-by-four-inch  scantling  and  driven  slantingly  into 
the  ground,  hold  the  roller  in  position.  A  groove  1  pul¬ 
ley,  F,  runs  freely  on  the  wire,  and  from  its  axis  is  sus¬ 
pended  a  fifty  pound  weight,  F.  The  rope,  G.  runs  over 
the  pulley,  H,  which  is  firmly  attached  to  the  lower  side 


HANDLING  HAY  AND  CORN  FODDER. 


129 


of  the  track.  The  wire-rope  is  made  of  three  wire 
clothes-lines  twisted  together.  When  in  use,  the  upper 
end  of  the  cord  is  attached  to  the  rope  which  carries  the 
fork.  It  is  thus  carried  up  with  the  loaded  fork,  and 
brings  it  back  by  gravitation  when  empty. 

.o. - 


HAY  BARRACKS. 

Figure  155  shows  barracks  constructed  by  setting  four 
posts,  of  chestnut,  or  white  oak,  twenty  or  twenty-five 
feet  long,  straight,  partly  squared  to  eight  inches 
through,  either  three  feet  in  the  ground  or  upon  sills. 
If  upon  sills,  these  are  hewed  upon  one  side  and  at  the 


Fig.  155. — BARRACK  WITH  BOARD  ROOF. 


ends,  where  they  are  halved  together.  In  doing  this,  it 
is  well  to  pin  the  ends  with  two  inch  oak  tree-nails, 
which  should  stand  up  three  or  four  inches  above  the 
sills  when  in  place.  Then  when  the  posts  are  set  at  the 
corners,  the  pins  will  enter  holes  bored  in  the  center  of 
each  post,  and  hold  them  in  position.  They  will  last  as 
long  as  the  posts  and  sills.  For  a  temporary  purpose, 


130 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


the  posts  may  be  simply  set  in  the  ground,  twelve  xeet 
apart ;  but  if  permanency  is  desired,  it  is  best  to  use  sills, 
set  level  upon  a  flat  stone  at  each  corner,  and  sup¬ 
ported  in  the  middle.  The  posts  must,  moreover,  be 
braced  to  the  sills,  either  by  diagonal  braces,  or  straight 
rails,  roughly  squared,  two  by  four,  mortised  into  the 
posts  at  a  height  of  four  feet  above  the  sills,  or  at  a  height 
of  six  feet,  in  case  the  barrack  may  be  intended  to  be 
boarded  up  to  make  a  stable.  They  make  very  good 


Fig.  156.  Fig.  157. 

BARRACK  WITH  THATCHED  ROOF.  MANNER  OF  RAISING. 


shelter  for  young  cattle  or  horses,  the  inside  between  the 
sills  being  filled  up  level  with  stones,  and  finished  with  a 
layer  of  cement  concrete.  The  cover,  or  roof,  must  be 
as  light  as  is  consistent  with  strength  and  efficacy,  and 
may  be  of  boards,  or  thatch,  the  latter  being  by  far  the 
most  picturesque,  and  being  lighter,  it  is  easier  to  raise 
and  lower.  Before  the  posts  are  set,  they  are  bored  with 
inch  holes,  either  twelve  or  fourteen  inches  apart,  from 
the  top  down,  exactly  in  the  middle  line,  each  set  per¬ 
fectly  level,  and  pass  through  the  posts  in  the  :^me  di¬ 
rection.  Four  pins  of  three-quarter  inch  iron,  fourteen 
inches  long,  turned  up  a  little  at  one  end,  and  bent 


HANDLING  HAY  AND  CORN  FODDER. 


131 


slightly  downward  to  prevent  rolling,  are  the  roof  sup¬ 
ports.  They  are  put  into  a  set  of  low  holes  on  the  out¬ 
sides  of  the  posts,  and  two  straight  oak  rails,  sixteen  to 
twenty  inches  longer  than  the  space  between  the  posts, 
are  laid  upon  them.  Then  across  the  ends  of  these,  and 
outside  the  posts,  two  similar  rails  are  laid,  the  ends 
being  temporarily  bound  together  at  the  corners.  These 
form  the  plates  for  the  roof.  One-third  pitch  is  usually 
given,  and  the  ends  extend  ten  inches,  or  a  foot,  beyond 
the  plates.  A  good  coat  of  paint  will  make  the  roof 
quite  durable,  and  prevent  the  boards  from  warping.  To 
make  a  thatched  roof,  figure  156,  nice,  straight,  light 
hoop  poles  are  selected,  which,  if  too  heavy,  must  be 
split.  These  are  for  rafters.  If  binding  poles  are  used, 
they  must  be  mere  rods,  like  light  whip  stocks.  The 
rafter  poles  are  laid  up  and  bound  at  the  ends,  and  to  the 
cross-poles  with  tarred  rope-yarn,  but  nailed  to  the  plates. 
They  are  placed  about  eighteen  inches  apart,  but  the  light 
split  cross  poles,  about  a  foot  to  fourteen  inches  apart. 
The  straw  is  laid  on  in  handfuls,  beginning  at  the  eaves, 
and  bound  with  rope  yarn  to  the  cross  poles,  or  in  courses, 
and  bound  down  by  tying  the  tough,  slender  maple  rods, 
to  the  cross  poles.  Of  course,  the  straw  is  kept  even, 
and  in  courses,  butts  outward,  and  trimmed  evenly  with 
shears.  When  laid,  the  straw  must  be  well  evened  at 
the  butts,  and  dampened  so  as  to  pack  nicely  and  not 
break  in  handling.  These  covers  should  be  as  light  as 
possible,  and.  be  consistent  with  strength.  They  are 
raised  and  lowered  one  corner  at  a  time,  which  may 
usually  be  done  by  one  man,  though  more  conveniently 
by  two.  To  raise  the  roof,  a  ladder  of  suitable  length  is 
set  under  the  lower  plate  pole  of  one  corner,  as  shown  in 
figure  157,  the  end  of  the  pole  being  allowed  to  pass 
through  between  the  rounds  of  the  ladder,  which  is  then 
lifted  either  by  main  strength,  or  by  a  rail  used  as  a  lever, 
and  held  in  position  until  some  one  going  up  another 


132 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


ladder,  can  lift  the  pin  which  supports  it.  This  is,  of 
course,  done  at  each  corner,  and  thus  the  roof  is  raised, 
one  peg  at  a  time.  It  is  lowered  in  the  same  manner  by 
reversing  the  operation. 

- »o» - 


SUPPORTS  FOR  STACKS. 

% 

In  stacking  straw  or  hay,  when  stock  is  permitted  to 
feed  upon  it  during  the  winter,  it  is  unsafe  to  leave  the 
stack  without  support.  The  danger  is  that  the  stacks 
may  be  undermined,  and  fall  over  upon  the  animals. 


This  will  not  happen  if  a  stout  support  is  made,  as  shown 
in  figure  158.  A  few  strong  posts  are  set  firmly  in  the 
ground,  and  planks  spiked  on  the  side  as  shown  ;  the 
cattle  can  eat  the  straw  from  between  the  planks,  and 
may  eat  the  stack  entirely  through  without  danger  of  its 
being  buried  by  over-turning.  When  the  crib  thus  made 
is  filled,  the  stack  is  topped  off  in  the  usual  manner, 
being  well  spread  over  the  eaves  to  shed  the  rain,  and, 
as  it  is  eaten  out  below,  the  straw  settles  down  gradually. 
It  is  quite  easy  to  cover  a  stack  so  made  with  a  roof,  so 
as  to  form  a  very  cheap  barrack.  In  the  summer,  by  a 
little  change,  this  will  make  a  good  calf  or  sheep  pen. 


Handling  hay  and  cory  fodder. 


133 


HOME-MADE  HAY  PRESS. 

The  press  shown  in  figures  159,  160,  and  161  may  be 
made  wholly  of  wood,  hewn  to  the  right  size,  and  put 
together  with  wooden  pins.  The  frame,  figure  159,  is 

four  feet  long  inside  of  the  posts,  and  three  feet  wide.  The 


Fig.  159. — FRAME  OF  HAT  PRESS. 

height  is  eight  feet.  The  movable  bottom  is  raised  by 
ropes  which  pass  over  pulleys  or  rollers,  if  no  iron  is  to  be 
used,  and  are  wound  upon  the  rollers  at  the  bottom. 
This  roller  is  moved  by  bars  to  be  inserted  in  mortises  cut 
in  the  roller,  similar  to  the  manner  used  in  moving  a 
windlass,  or  a  capstan  on  shipboard.  A  movable  door  is 
made  to  fit  the  bottom  of  the  press  on  one  side,  for  the 
puipose  of  removing  the  bale  after  it  is  pressed.  The 


m 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


bale  is  bound  with  a  strong  cord,  pieces  of  which  ar*> 
placed  on  the  bottom  and  others  on  the  top,  as  shown  in 


Fig.  160. — END  VIEW  OE  HAY  PRESS. 


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Fig.  161. — MOVABLE  BOTTOM. 

figure  159,  and  the  ends  are  fastened  when  the  bale  is 
pressed  as  tightly  as  possible.  It  is  then  reduced  to  two 


HANDLING  HAT  AND  CORN  FODDER. 


135 


% 

and  one-half  feet  in  thickness,  and  eight  of  these  bales 
will  make  a  ton.  The  hay  is  easily  transported  in  wagons 
when  baled,  and  the  press  can  be  moved  from  one  mea¬ 
dow  to  another  as  the  hay  is  cut  and  pressed,  or  it  will 


Fig.  162. — HAY  BALE. 


be  more  convenient  at  times  to  drive  the  cattle  to  the  hay 
rather  than  move  the  hay  to  the  cattle.  Figure  160 
shows  the  end  view  of  the  press,  figure  161,  the  movable 
bottom,  and  figure  162,  the  pressed  bale.  When  the 
iron  can  be  procured  without  great  expense,  it  might  be 
well  to  use  the  pulleys  and  slotted  wheels  as  here  shown, 
but  otherwise  these  parts  may  be  made  of  wood. 

•o« - * 


TWISTING  HAY  AND  STRAW. 

The  machine  figures  163  to  167,  consists  of  two  two-by 
four  bars,  nine  feet  long,  figure  163,  straight  and  true, 
and  of  even  thickness  and  width.  They  are  bolted  to¬ 
gether  at  each  end,  and  separated  by  a  block  four  inches 
square  and  two  inches  thick,  at  one  end  «,  and  a  piece 
of  two-by-four  stuff,  three  feet  long,  at  l.  A  pulley  is 
set  at  c,  about  thirty-nine  inches  from  the  end  a.  Fig- 


136 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


ure  164  shows  frame  of  back  end  (A,  figure  167),  a  being 
a  piece  of  two-  by-four,  four  feet  long;  b,  b,  two  uprights, 
one-by-four,  six  feet  long  ;  c,  a  two-by-four,  three  feet 
long  ;  d,  a  one-by-four,  three  feet  long  ;  they  are  firmly 


c 


Fig.  163. — THE  BARS,  OR  WAYS. 


nailed  together  as  shown,  the  upper  edge  of  c,  being  half 
way  up  from  bottom.  Figure  165  is  the  same  as  figure 
164,  except  the  lower  piece  a  is  only  three  feet  long.  The 
five  converging  pieces  are  of  some  springy  wood.  They 
are  attached  by  screws,  three  to  the  upper  cross-pieces 
and  two  to  the  middle  one,  and  prevent  the  hay  going 
too  fast  out  of  the  rack.  Figure  166  shows  a  “  follower’’ 
(/*,  figure  164),  a  being  two-by-four,  twelve  inches  long, 
b,  two-by-four,  twenty-six  inches  long,  framed  or  halved 
on  a  ;  c  is  a  brace  of  one-inch  board  ;  d,  d ,  two  pieces  of 
board,  the  lower  one  eight  inches  wide,  six  inches  long, 


the  upper  twelve  inches  wide,  sixteen  inches  long  ;  they 
are  firmly  attached  to  b  by  nails  and  screws  as  shown, 
and  the  brace  c  is  then  nailed  in  place.  The  “  twister  ” 
is  made  of  seven-sixteenths  round  iron,  nine  inches  long 


HANDLING  HAY  AND  CORN  FODDER.  13? 

from  crank  to  hook,  five  inch  crank,  three  and  a  half 
inch  handle.  The  hook  is  turned  so  as  to  have  a  twist 
like  a  corkscrew,  so  that  it  will  work  in  and  catch  the 
hay  up  of  itself;  two  washers  are  put  on  that  fit  the 
rod  snugly  and  four  inches  apart,  by  placing  shaft  in  a 
vice  ;  a  nick  with  a  cold  chisel  on  each  side  of  shaft  on 
outside  of  each  washer,  will  keep  them  in  place.  This  is 
made  fast  upon  a  piece  of  two-by-four,  twelve  inches 
long,  the  upper  end  grooved  out  so  that  the  shaft  will 
set  in  about  half  way,  then  beveled  off  as  shown  ;  the 
shaft  is  fastened  in  place  by  a  couple  of  strips  of  hoop 


Fig.  167. — THE  COMPLETE  MACHINE  (STRAW-TWISTER). 

iron,  bent  over  it  and  nailed  or  screwed  in  place  ;  two 
strips  are  screwed  on  the  sides,  and  a  piece  of  board  on 
the  bottom  end,  as  shown,  leaving  space  between  the  two 
so  that  it  will  work  freely  on  the  ways,  figure  163,  when 
in  place  as  shown  in  figure  167.  Figure  167  shows  the 
machine  complete,  A  being  figure  164,  B,  figure  165,  in 
their  places,  c,  showing  boarding  of  rack,  the  edges  of 
which  show  in  figure  164  and  165  ;  it  is  nailed  to  the 
upper  piece  and  to  the  ways.  W  is  a  weight  to  bring  the 
follower,  figure  166,  forward  as  fast  as  hay  is  used  out, 
and  keeps  the  hay  firm  and  in  its  place  against  the  wooden 
springs;  the  weight  may  be  a  stone,  or  box  filled  with  iron 
or  scraps.  In  use,  draw  the  follower  back,  and  run  the 


138 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


pin,  /,  in  hole  bored  through  wavs  and  follower,  fill  in  the 
rack  from  top  with  hay,  just  mowed  or  slightly  damp, 
pressing  it  in  snugly,  then  draw  out  pin  f,  slide  carriage 
g  up  to  rack  ;  by  turning  crank  the  hook  will  catch  up  a 
lock  of  the  hay,  then  keep  turning  and  drawing  carriage 
away  at  the  same  time,  and  it  will  twist  put  a  rope  of  hay, 
this  is  doubled,  and  ends  fastened  by  crowding  through 
loops.  If  you  can  get  some  drawer  rollers  to  set  in  the 
follower  and  on  the  carriage,  it  will  work  much  easier. 


WESTPHALIAN  STRAW-TWISTER.  Fig.  169. 


Figures  168  and  169  show  a  form  of  straw-twister, 
which  has  long  been  in  use  in  Westphalia,  Germany.  A 
board  of  hard  wood,  half  an  inch  thick,  four  and  a  half 
inches  wide  and  five  feet  long,  is  shaped  as  in  figure  168, 
\nd  has  an  inch  hole  in  the  center.  A  piece  of  the  same 
iff,  five  inches  square,  also  with  an  inch  hole  ( a  in  the 


HANDLING  HAY  AND  CORN  FODDER. 


139 


engravings),  is  attached  to  the  large  piece  by  means  of 
long  wooden  pins,  and  stands  three  inches  from  it,  the 
holes  in  the  two  exactly  corresponding.  A  shaft  of  hard 
wood,  b,  figure  169,  is  square  at  the  end,  where  the  crank 
c,  is  attached,  and  round  where  it  passes  through  the 
two  holes.  This  shaft  is  held  in  place  by  the  pins,  d,  d , 
which  should  be  so  set  as  to  allow  it  to  turn  freely.  An¬ 
other  wooden  pin,  e,  passes  through  the  shaft  and  pro¬ 
jects  an  inch  and  a  half  on  each  side.  In  making  the 
rope,  two  men  are  required.  The  straw  having  been 
slightly  moistened  by  sprinkling  from  a  watering  can, 
one  takes  a  bunch  and  fastens  it  to  the  pin  e.  .  The  other 
operator  takes  the  machine  with  his  left  hand,  at  b,  fig¬ 
ure  168,  and  with  the  lower  end  against  his  foot,  turns 
the  crank ;  he  gradually  moves  away  from  the  other, 
pushing  the  machine  along  with  his  foot,  while  keeping 
the  crank  in  motion,  and  the  other  supplies  straw  as  re¬ 
quired.  The  latter  sits  upon  a  low  stool,  and  his  right 
hand  should  be  protected  by  a  stout  leather  glove  or  a 
piece  of  leather.  When  the  rope  is  about  a  hundred  feet 
long,  or  it  becomes  difficult  to  turn  the  crank,  it  is  rolled 
into  a  ball,  and  a  new  one  begun.  The  rope  is  finally 
made  into  balls  of  convenient  size. 


STANDARD  FOR  CORN  SHOCKS. 

The  best  standard  is  made  by  bending  four  hills  to¬ 
gether — two  diagonal  hills  being  lapped  and  twisted  to¬ 
gether.  But  to  such  a  standard  it  can  be  objected,  that 
a  knife  must  be  carried  along  to  cut  the  stalks  loose  when 
the  fodder  is  brought  in  from  the  fields,  and  that  these 
stalks  cannot  be  stood  straight  in  the  rick.  Some  prefer 
a  movable  wooden  standard,  of  which  a  very  good  sort  is 
shown  in  figure  170.  A  light  pole,  twelve  or  fifteen  feet 
long,  is  provided  with  two  upright  supports  ;  holes  are 


140 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


\ 


bored  through  the  pole  about  five  feet  from  one  end,  and 
through  the  ends  of  the  uprights,  and  a  bolt  passed 
through  the  holes  and  secured  by  a  nut.  The  holes 
should  be  so  large  that  the  uprights  can  be  spread  a  foot 
apart  at  the  bottom.  Midway  between  the  uprights  and 
the  end  of  the  pole,  another  hole  is  bored,  through 
which  a  cross-bar  is  put.  In  the  four  angles  formed  by 


Fig.  170. — FODDER  CORN  STANDARD. 


the  intersection  of  the  pole  and  the  cross-bar,  the  fodder 
is  set.  When  the  shock  reaches  out  to  the  support,  the 
cross-bar  is  pulled  out,  and  the  pole  can  be  removed. 
Some  prefer  to  have  the  supports  and  cross-bar  near  to¬ 
gether,  about  four  feet  from  the  pole.  The  shock  is 
built  around  the  supports.  When  done,  the  cross-bar  is 
pulled  out,  and  as  the  pole  is  removed,  the  supports  are 
brought  close  together,  and  do  not  hinder. 


-♦<>♦ 


VENTILATOR  FOR  STACKS. 

A  large  quantity  of  corn  fodder  is  spoiled  for  want  of 
proper  care  in  drying  and  stacking.  It  is  not  easy  to  hit 
the  happy  mean,  between  the  sufficient  drying  of  the 
stalks,  and  the  over-drying  of  the  leaves.  But  it  can  be 
done  perfectly  in  the  stack,  by  the  use  of  the  ventilator, 
figure  171.  This  consists  of  three  or  four  poles  or  bars, 
fastened  together  with  cross-slats,  and  made  to  fit  one 
upon  another.  Such  a  ventilator,  which  may  be  four  or 
six  feet  long,  is  set  on  the  foundation  for  the  stack,  and 


HANDLING  HAY  AND  CO  UN  FODDER. 


141 


passes  upwards  through  it,  leaving  a  perfect  chimney 
and  air  passage  in  the  center  of  the  fodder.  More  than 


one  can  be  used  if  desired.  These  ventilators  are  useful 
in  stacks  of  hay  or  grain,  which  may  be  a  little  damp. 

- - 


BENCH  FOR  HUSKING. 


Figure  172  represents  a  very  comfortable  and  light 
husking  stool  f  it  is  made  long  and  wide  enough  to  hold 


Fig.  172. — HUSKING  STOOL. 

a  sheaf  of  stalk,  and  is  provided  with  a  seat,  or  may 
have  one  on  both  sides,  if  desired.  If  one  can  procure 


142 


3? ARM  APPLIANCES. 


some  crooks  of  cedar  or  other  light  wood,  such  as  is  used 
in  rustic  work,  they  will  serve  very  well  for  the  ends.  The 
seats  may  be  removed  when  the  stools  are  not  required, 
and  may  then  serve  for  benches  in  the  dairy  or  for 
household  purposes. 


CORN-STALK  BAND. 

Stalks  altogether  dry  or  altogether  green  are  not  to  be 
selected,  as  they  will  break  when  it  is  attempted  to 
twist  them.  Long,  slender  stalks  are  desirable.  The 
first  stalk  is  broken  at  a  right  angle  about  two  feet  from 
the  but  ;  the  but  is  then  forced  into  the  shock  as  far  as 
the  break,  when  the  remainder  of  the  stalk  is  passed 


Fig.  173. — CORN-STALK  BAND. 


around  the  shock,  breaking  it  carefully  every  eight  or 
ten  inches,  until  the  tassel  point  is  almost  reached.  Then 
another  stalk  is  inserted  in  the  shock.  The  top  of  the 
first  stalk  is  broken  every  three  inches  between  the 
thumb  and  fingers,  and  twisted  around  the  second  stalk, 
which  is  then  broken  and  passed  around  the  shock  as  in 


HA  KB  LING  HAY  AND  COEN  FODDER. 


143 


the  case  of  the  first  one.  This  is  continued  until  the 
last  stalk  reaches  the  first  one,  when  it  is  secured  by 
twisting  it  as  in  the  case  of  the  others,  or  by  drawing  it 
down  between  the  shock  and  the  first  stalk,  just  in  front 
of  the  break,  forming  a  loop  below,  through  which  a 
piece  of  stalk,  two  feet  long,  is  passed  and  driven  into 
the  shock.  In  figure  173  is  shown  the  appearance  of  tne 
band  as  it  would  be,  if  the  shock  could  be  removed  after 
the  band  is  completed. 


CONVENIENT  FODDER  CARRIER. 

On  farms  where  the  corn-stalks  are  left  in  the  field  to 
be  carted  to  the  yard  as  wanted,  the  use  of  a  convenient 
carrier  saves  much  work  and  time.  Such  a  one  is  shown 


Fig.  174. — FODDER  CARRIER. 


in  figure  174.  It  consists  of  the  front  wheels,  axle,  bol¬ 
ster  and  pole  of  a  common  farm-wagon,  with  the  ends  of 
two  poles,  or  a  common  cord-wood  rack  fastened  to  the 
bolster.  The  other  ends  of  the  poles  drag  on  the  ground. 
A  cross-piece,  three  feet  long,  is  securely  fastened  to  the 
poles  about  three  feet  from  their  lower  ends,  and  two  up¬ 
right  stakes,  four  or  five  feet  long,  complete  the  arrange- 
ment  of  this  farm  convenience. 


CIIAPTEB  VII.' 


STUMP-PULLERS,  DERRICKS  AND  SLINGS* 

STUMP-PULLERS. 

Figure  175  shows  a  very  powerful  machine  for  pulling 
stumps.  The  woodwork  is  made  of  well-seasoned  oak, 
the  winding  shaft  being  eight  inches  in  diameter  and  five 
feet  long.  The  lower  block,  in  which  it  revolves,  is  six¬ 
teen  inches  square  and  three  inches  thick,  having  a  hole 
cut  just  large  enough  to  receive  the  winding  shaft,  and  is 
fastened  securely  to  the  middle  brace  at  the  bottom.  To 
prevent  the  splitting  of  the  winding  shaft,  two  stout  iron 
bands  are  shrunk  immediately  above  and  below  where  the 

%j 

lever  or  sweep  is  inserted.  An  old  gear-wheel,  with  the 
spokes  knocked  out,  is  fastened  to  the  top  cross-piece  or 
head-block,  to  receive  the  traveling  ratchet  attached  to  the 
shaft.  The  upright  pieces  of  the  frame  are  of  two  by 
eight  inch  oak,  three  and  a  half  feet  high  ;  the  top  cross¬ 
piece  or  head-block  two  by  sixteen  inch  oak,  narrowing  to 
twelve  inches  at  the  ends,  and  three  feet  long.  The  frame 
is  set  on  runners  four  feet  long,  two  by  ten  inch  oak,  so 
the  implement  can  be  quickly  moved  from  place  to  place  ; 
the  entire  frame  is  mortised  together.  The  anchor  is  of 
one-inch  round  iron,  and  attached  as  shown  in  the  illus¬ 
tration,  and  a  strong  iron  pulley-block  is  used  on  the 
opposite  side.  In  pulling  large  stumps,  a  chain  is  more 
reliable  than  a  rope.  A  single  horse  furnishes  the  motive 
power  at  the  end  of  the  lever  or  sweep,  which  is  ten  feet 
long. 

Figure  176  shows  a  cheaper  and  lighter  stump-puller. 
The  only  expense  is  for  the  chain,  links  of  one  and  a  half 
to  two  inch  tough  iron,  or  tough-tempered  steel  ;  r'ng, 
ten  to  twelve  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  hook,  all  of 
(144) 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


'46 


which  any  blacksmith  can  make.  The  point  of  the  hook 
must  be  formed  so  that  it  will  strike  in  toward  the  heart 
of  the  stump  and  not  tear  loose  on  partially  decayed  wood. 
The  lever  may  be  twelve  to  twenty  feet  long,  its  size  de¬ 
pending  on  the  quality  of  the  wood  and  the  force  to  han- 


Fig.  176.— a  srMPLE  stump-puller. 


die  it.  A  lever  twenty  feet  long  on  a  stump  two  feet  in 
diameter,  would  exert  a  force  of  ten  tons  for  each  one 
thousand  pounds  of  direct  pull  by  the  team.  Though 
many  durable,  long-rooted  stumps  would  not  yield  to 
this,  the  large  majority  of  ordinary  stumps,  after  decay¬ 
ing  a  year  or  two,  can  thus  be  cleared  out,  with  most  of 
the  roots. 

Figure  177  shows  a  stump-puller  used  in  New  Zealand. 
The  thread  of  the  screw  works  both  ways  and  gradually 
draws  each  chain  nearer  the  center,  where  the  screw  is 


Fig.  177. — NEW  ZEALAND  STUMP-PULLER. 


turned  by  a  movable  bar.  One  end  of  the  chain  is  fast¬ 
ened  around  one  stump,  and  the  other  around  . a  second  ; 
then  when  the  screw  is  turned,  whichever  stump  is  the 
less  firm  in  the  ground  is  bound  to  be  pulled  out.  The 
screw  is  readily  worked  by  a  man,  though  it  will,  as  a 
rule,  require  two  persons  to  work  it  on  heavy  land. 


STUMP-PULLERS,  DERRICKS.  SLIKGS. 


147 


DERRICKS  FOR  FARM  USE. 


Where  there  is  much  handling  of  heavy  barrels  or 
sacks,  one  man,  with  some  Simple,  mechanical  contriv¬ 
ance,  can  easily  do  the  work  of  two  or  three,  working  bv 
main  strength.  A  boom  derrick,  figure  178,  hung  high, 
so  that  the  weight  shall  be  lifted  from  the  ground  ordi¬ 
narily,  when  the  derrick  swings  horizontally,  is  very  con¬ 
venient.  A  post  is  banded,  and  has  a  strong  dowel  at 
each  end.  The  lower  dowel  is  set  in  a  stone  fixed  in  the 
ground,  Those  to  the  building  where  it  is  to  be  used,  the 


Fig.  178. — A  BOOM  DERRICK. 


Fig.  179.—  ETE-BOLT. 


upper  one  in  a  strong  oak  cleat,  bolted  to  the  building. 
At  the  height  of  about  five  or  six  feet  from  the  ground, 
an  eye-bolt  passes  through  the  post,  and  another  is  fixed 
at  the  top.  The  boom  is  fastened  to  the  lower  eye-bolt 
by  a  three-quarter  inch  hooked  iron,  attached  as  shown 
in  figure  179,  while  the  other  end  of  the  boom  has  a  band 
with  two  eyes.  This  boom  is  a  spar  or  pole,  stiff  enough 
to  bear  the  strain  without  doubling  up  or  breaking,  and 
may  be  ten  or  fifteen  feet  long.  The  end  of  the  boom  is 
raised  or  lowered  by  a  pair  of  single  pulleys,  or  by  a 


118 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


double  block  tackle,  which  will  exert  much  greater  pow¬ 
er.  When  the  weight  is  lifted,  as  out  of  a  cellar-way,  it 
may  be  swung  around  over  a  wagon  and  lowered  into  it. 

A  convenient  derrick  for  raising  slaughtered  animals, 
for  suspending  heavy  hogs  in  scalding,  and  dressing  beeves, 
and  for  sundry  other  purposes,  can  be  cheaply  and  quick¬ 
ly  made  thus  :  Take  three  scantlings  two  by  six  inches, 
and  fourteen  feet  long,  or  any  other  desired  length  and 
strength.  Round  poles  will  answer,  by  hewing  flat  on 
two  sides  a  small  portion  of  the  upper  ends.  Bore  cor¬ 
responding  holes  in  the  top  of  each,  and  insert  a  strong 
iron  bolt,  with  large  head  on  one  end,  and  large  nut  and 
screw  on  the  other.  Let  the  bolt  fit  loosely,  to  allow  a 
little  play.  These  pieces  can  fold  together  for  storage, 
and  be  raised  to  any  desired  height  short  of  perpendicu¬ 
lar.  Bore  a  series  of  small  holes  along  the  upper  sides 
of  two  poles,  for  movable  iron  pins,  or  larger  ones  for 
wooden  pins.  These  may  be  fastened  in,  or  better,  have 
two  loose  pins  for  moving  to  higher  or  lower  holes.  By 
placing  the  feet  of  these  two  poles  against  firmly  driven 
stakes,  and  drawing  the  third  and  rear  pole  inward,  the 
center  will  be  elevated  with  considerable  force,  the  power 
required  decreasing  as  the  timbers  approach  a  perpendic¬ 
ular,  when  a  beef  carcass,  for  instance,  is  nearly  lifted 
from  the  ground,  and  hangs  more  heavily.  If  desired  or 
necessary,  horse  power  can  be  applied  by  using  a  rope 
with  a  clevis  or  otherwise,  attaching  it  to  a  double-tree 
or  to  a  wlnffletree.  A  single  horse  will  be  sufficient  for 
raising  a  large  carcass  by  means  of  this  tripod  derrick. 


SLINGS  FOR  HOISTING  HEAVY  OBJECTS. 

When  one  has  bags  to  hoist  by  a  block,  or  simply  by  a 
fall,  from  the  barn  floor  to  the  loft,  rope  or  chain  slings 
are  almost  essential.  The  simplest  sling  to  operate  is 


STUMP- PULLERS,  DERRICKS,  SLINGS. 


149 


formed  on  the  end  of  the  fall-rope,  as  shown  in  figure 
180.  This  consists  simply  of  an  oak  stick,  half  an  inch 


Fig.  180.  Fig.  181. — chain-sling. 

thick,  two  inches  wide  and  six  inches  long,  having  two 
three-quarter  inch  holes  bored,  one  near  each  end. 
Through  one  of  these  the  end  of  the  rope  passes,  then  it 


Fig.  182.— ENDLESS  ROPE-SLING. 

is  drawn  through  the  other  and  knotted  strongly.  Trie 
mouth  of  the  bag  being  caught  in  the  bight  of  the  loop, 


150 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


it  may  be  safely  hoisted,  for  the  greater  the  weight  the 
tighter  will  be  the  hold. 

Next  to  this,  and  still  more  convenient,  is  the  chain¬ 
sling,  figure  181.  The  fall-rope  is  terminated  by  a  chain 
with  twisted  links,  which  ends  in  a  ring,  and  so  a  loop 
is  made  to  take  the  bag,  or  simply  the  bag’s  mouth. 
Like  the  rope-sling,  it  will  hold  fast  all  the  bags  that 
it  can  be  made  to  surround.  For  hoisting  many  bags  at 
a  time,  nothing  is  more  convenient  and  safe  than  an  end¬ 
less  rope,  figure  182,  cut  eighteen  to  twenty  feet  long, 
and  the  ends  spliced  together.  This  is  laid  upon  the 
floor,  forming  a  long,  narrow  loop ;  the  bags  are  laid 
upon  it,  resting  evenly  on  both  side  ropes,  then  the  ends 
are  brought  together,  one  is  passed  through  the  other, 
so  as  to  act  like  a  noose,  and  hooked  over  the  fall-rope, 
which  should  terminate  in  a  strong  hook,  as  shown  in 
the  engraving. 


DERRICK  FOR  A  CELLAR. 

The  carrier  shown  in  figure  183  is  similar  to  those  used 
for  hay,  but  more  simple  in  construction.  Four  iron 
wheels  are  attached  with  bolts,  which  serve  as  axles,  to 
two-by-four-inch  oak  blocks.  The  connecting  bars  hold¬ 
ing  the  blocks  together  are  made  of  old  wagon-wheel  tire, 
and  joined  together  below  the  carrier  by  a  cross-bar  of 
the  same  material,  bearing  a  hook.  The  track  is  made 
of  a  bent  two-by-four-inch  scantling,  to  each  side  of 
wThich  are  bolted  oak  strips  one  inch  thick,  forming  a 
roadway  for  the  wheels.  To  the  outer  end  of  the  track 
is  fastened  a  pulley,  over  which  passes  the  rope  attached 
to  the  carrier.  When  the  lead  runs  into  the  cellar  the 
rope  moves  along  m  the  groove  under  the  track.  In  re¬ 
moving  heavy  articles  from  the  cellar,  the  end  of  the  rope 
is  attached  to  a  windlass,  set  a  short  distance  from  the 


STUMP-PULL  EES,  DEEEICKS,  SLINGS. 


151 


cellar  door.  •  When  not  in  use,  the  carrier  may  be  taken 
down  and  laid  aside  out  of  the  way.  This  device  has 


Fig.  183. — A  CELLAR  CARRIER. 


been  used  in  a  cellar,  where  four  hundred  bushels  of 
apples  and  potatoes  were  stored,  and  the  owner  would  not 
part  with  it,  if  he  could  not  obtain  another.  With  it  one 
man  can  place  a  hundred  barrels  of  apples  in  a  cellar,  or 
remove  them,  as  easily  as  he  could  as  many  pecks  with 
his  hands  alone. 

- - 

LEVEE  APPAEATUS  FOE  LIFTING. 

The  implement  shown  in  figure  184  is  very  useful  for 
many  purposes  on  the  farm.  Mortise  a  post  of  three  by 


Fig.  184. — CONVENIENT  LIFTING  APPARATUS. 

three-inch  stuff  into  a  piece  of  two-inch  plank.  In  the 
top  of  this  saw  a  slot,  one  and  a  half  inch  wide,  to  re- 


152 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


Reive  the  lever  of  the  same  thickness,  four  inches  wide, 
and  with  the  short  arm,  three  feet  long,  and  the  long 
arm,  six  feet  long.  To  the  long  arm  is  fastened  a  piece 
of  chain,  and  to  the  short  arm  another  piece,  provided 
with  a  hook  at  the  free  end.  Having  the  long  arm  of  the 
lever  twice  as  long  as  the  short  arm,  one  can  easily  lift  a 
weight  twice  his  own.  It  is  surprising  how  often  there 
is  use  for  this.  It  can  be  used  to  lift  sacks  of  grain  into 
the  wagon  ;  logs  on  the  sled  or  saw-horse  ;  the  bed  off 
the  wagon  ;  the  mower  over  an  obstruction  when  putting 


Fig.  185. — IMPROVED  LIFTING  APPARATUS. 


it  in  the  barn  ;  and  for  some  other  things  nearly  every 
other  day.  By  making  the  chain,  on  the  short  lever  long 
enough,  it  can  be  passed  around  a  log  or  sack,  and  hooked 
very  quickly. 

The  improvement  shown  in  figure  185  consists  in  having 
the  long  arm  of  the  lever  longer  and  the  short  arm  a 
very  little  shorter,  giving  a  greater  advantage.  As  the 
short  arm  of  the  lever  is  brought  up,  the  free  end  of  the 
chain  is  shortened;  hence,  it  will  lift  the  weight  a  greater 
height.  With  the  first  device  one  can  lift  a  weight  only 
three  feet  conveniently. 


A  HOME-MADE  HORSE-POWEKo 

The  worst  disposition  which  can  be  made  of  a  worn-out 
farm  machine  of  any  kind,  is  to  lay  it  up  by  the  fence  in 


STUMP-EtILLEBS,  DEBBICKS,  SLINKS. 


m 


the  dooryard  or  barnyard,  to  be  an  eyesore  for  years,  and 
a  possible  source  of  danger  to  domestic  animals,  or  even 
to  persons  passing  hastily  or  carelessly  near  it.  The 
better  plan  is  to  take  the  machine  to  pieces,  set  aside  any 
unsound  or  broken  wood  for  fuel,  sell  whatever  iron  is 
not  likely  to  be  useful  in  its  present  shape,  and  carefullv 
store  away  in  a  suitable  place  the  remaining  parts, 
whether  of  wood  or  iron,  particularly  bolts,  gearing,  etc. 
With  a  little  ingenuity,  and  perhaps  a  slight  outlay  of 
money,  wheels  and  shafts  from  disabled  reapers,  mowers 
or  other  machines  may  be  put  together  to  form  a  light 
horse-power,  which  will  be  found  very  serviceable  in 
driving  feed-cutter,  corn-slieller,  or  farm-mill.  In  the 
construction  of  a  horse-power  certain  general  principles 
must  be  kept  in  mind,  otherwise  failure,  more  or  less 
complete,  will  be  the  result.  The  different  parts  must 
be  sufficiently  strong  to  bear  the  strain  to  which  they 
will  be  subjected  ;  the  bearings  need  to  be  true,  and  the 
whole  so  securely  braced  and  held  together,  that  any 
slipping  of  cogs  will  be  impossible.  The  rate  of  speed 
must  be  from  seventy-two  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  rev^ 
olutions  of  the  cutting-box  shaft  for  every  one  of  the 
horse,  the  first  being  rather  low  for  a  six-foot,  and  the 
second  rather  high  for  an  eight-foot  sweep.  Since  some 
portion  of  the  force  employed  is  always  lost  through 
friction,  the  fewer  wheels  to  secure  the  required  speed 
and  direction,  the  better.  Hard- wood  boxes  are  cheaper 
and  are  more  easily  adjusted  than  those  made  of  metal, 
and,  if  they  are  kept  properly  greased,  last,  perhaps, 
quite  as  long. 

An  excellent  portable-power  can  be  made  by  taking  a 
bevel-gearing  from  an  old  discarded  brick-machine,  a 
pair  of  spur-wheels  from  an  ancient  reaper,  two  or  three 
shafts  and  a  band-wheel  from  other  sources — all  odds 
and  ends  picked  up  cheaply  here  and  there — arranging 
them  to  suit  the  purpose,  and  fitting  all  but  the  band- 


154 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


wheel  and  one  shaft  in  a  stout  frame.  The  odd  shaft 
extends  from  the  end  of  the  frame  some  distance,  and 
carries  the  band-wheel  at  its  further  end,  above  which  a 
feed-cutter  stands  on  a  loft,  and  is  run  by  a  belt.  From 
a  pulley  on  the  same  shaft,  power  is  conveyed  to  a  grind¬ 
stone  and  corn-sheller,  which  require  a  much  lower  rate 
of  speed  than  the  cutter.  The  crown  wheel  has  fifty- 
four  cogs,  its  pinion,  eighteen;  the  spur-wheel  has  sev¬ 
enty-two  cogs,  its  pinion,  fifteen;  the  band-wheel  is  thir¬ 
ty-six  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  pulleys  on  the  cutting 
box,  six  inches.  The  number  of  revolutions  of  the  cut¬ 
ter-shaft  to  one  of  the  horse  are,  therefore,  eighty-six  and 
two-fifths.  A  six-inch  leather  belt  will  seldom  or  never 
slip;  a  four-inch  belt  is  quite  too  light.  Two  horses,  at¬ 
tached  to  this  power,  cut  cornstalks  very  rapidly.  The 
crown-wheel  has  a  tendency  to  rise  and  allow  the  cogs 
to  slip.  It  must  be  kept  down  by  friction  wheels  placed 
above  the  rim,  or  by  a  collar  on  the  axle,  working  against 
the  underside  of  the  upper  cross-piece,  which,  in  turn, 
must  be  kept  in  place  by  a  bolt  or  rod  at  each  end,  run¬ 
ning  up  through  the  bed-piece,  and  secured  at  the  top 
by  means  of  a  broad  washer  and  stout  nut. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

PREPARING  AND  HANDLING  FERTILIZERS. 
HAULING  BARNYARD  MANURE. 

When  hauling  manure  it  is  usual  to  drop  it  in  heaps, 
and  leave  it  to  be  spread  by  a  man  who  follows  soon  after. 
There  are  several  methods  of  dumping  the  manure,  but 
the  most  satisfactory  is  to  use  a  manure  hook,  as  shown 


PREPARING  AND  HANDLING  FERTILIZERS.  155 


in  figure  186.  The  bottom  of  the  sled  or  wagon  should 
be  formed  of  loose  planks,  each  with  its  end  shaved 


down  to  form  handles.  The  side  and  end  pieces  of  the 
box,  though  closely  fitting,  are  not  fastened  together,  so 
that  they  can  be  removed  one  at  a  time.  One  side  or  an 
end  board  is  first  taken  out,  and  with  a  manure  hook  a 
sufficient  amount  of  the  load  removed  for  the  first  heap. 
The  manner  of  unloading  the  manure  from  the  box 


Fig.  187. — A  MANURE  WAGON  BOX. 


above  described,  is  shown  in  figure  187.  The  other  side 
and  ends  are  afterwards  taken  off,  and  finally  the  bottom 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


m 

pieces  are  raised  and  the  sled  or  wagon  is  soon  emptied. 
In  dropping  the  heaps,  they  should  be  left,  as  nearly  as 
may  be,  in  straight  rows,  and  of  a  size  and  distance  apart 
determined  by  the  amount  of  manure  to  be  spread.  If 
they  are  placed  regularly  one  rod  from  another  each  way, 
and  eight  heaps  are  made  from  a  load,  there  will  be 
twenty  loads  per  acre.  In  spreading  such  heaps  the 
manure  is  thrown  eight  feet  each  way,  and  the  whole 
ground  is  covered.  It  is  important  that  the  spreading 
be  done  in  a  careful  and  thorough  manner,  each  portion 
of  the  surface  getting  its  proper  share  of  the  manure.  It 
is  important  also  that  all  lumps  be  broken  up. 

- »o« - 

IMPLEMENT  FOR  FINING  MANURE. 

It  is  often  desirable  to  have  fine  manure  for  use  in 
hills  and  drills  ;  and  it  is  also  at  times  necessary,  when 
artificial  fertilizers  are  lumpy,  to  pulverize  them  for  use. 
A  tool  for  this  purpose  is  shown  in  figure  188.  This  is 


Fig.  188. — IMPLEMENTS  FOR  FINING  MANURE. 


especially  useful  in  preparing  the  mixture  of  poultry 
manure  and  plaster.  The  implement  is  made  of  a  piece 
of  three-inch  hard-wood  plank,  twelve  inches  wide, 
sawed  and  cut  across  into  notches,  and  surrounded  on 
three  sides  as  shown,  with  a  strip  of  sheet  iron,  or  broad 
hoop-iron  band.  It  is  rubbed  back  and  forth  over  the 
manure  on  a  floor,  and  can  be  used  as  a  shovel,  by  rais¬ 
ing  the  handle,  for  turning  over  and  mixing  the  mass. 


PREPARING  AND  HANDLING  FERTILIZERS. 


15? 


MUCK  AND  PEAT. 

Fresh  muck  contains  valuable  plant-food,  but  usually 
in  an  unavailable  form.  There  are  many  instances  where 
muck,  applied  to  land,  has  proved  positively  injurious. 
Muck  needs  to  be  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  frost,  rain 
and  sun,  or,  as  it  is  termed,  “  weathered,”  for  a  season, 
before  it  is  fit  to  be  used  as  a  fertilizer.  Even  after  it 
has  thus  been  subjected  to  the  elements,  it  is  usually 
best  to  employ  the  finely  divided  muck  as  an  absorbent 
of  liquid  manure  in  the  stable  or  shed,  or  even  the  barn¬ 
yard.  In  this  way  the  food  elements  are  brought  into  a 
better  state  for  the  plants  to  feed  upon.  If  the 
“ weathered”  muck  and  manure  can  be  composted  to¬ 
gether  for  a  time,  a  still  more  valuable  fertilizer  is  ob¬ 
tained. 

When  one  has  peat  or  muck  in  any  form  upon  his 
farm,  it  should,  of  course,  be  dug  when  the  water  is  low 
in  the  swamps,  and  the  task  of  getting  out  muck  may 


Fig.  189.— A  BOAT  FOR  GETTING  OUT  MUCK. 

aid  essentially  the  work  of  reclaiming  the  swamps.  Thus 
the  main  ditch  may  be  dug  the  width  of  a  cart  track. 
By  making  a  narrow  preliminary  ditch  to  carry  off  the 
water  and  dry  the  ground,  a  horse  and  cart  may  be 
brought  into  the  ditch  and  the  muck  carted  directly  off 
to  dry  ground,  where  it  can  dry,  and  perhaps  be  exposed 
to  a  winter’s  freezing  and  thawing,  before  using  in  the 


158 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


compost  heaps  or  barn-yard.  In  all  such  ditching  we 
must  begin  at  the  lowest  end  of  the  ditch,  so  that  there 
shall  always  be  a  free  outlet  for  the  water.  A  boat,  to 
be  used  in  removing  muck  from  the  bed  through  a  water 
channel  to  a  hill-side,  is  shown  in  figure  189.  It  is  of 
pine  boards,  nailed  firmly  to  side  planks,  braced  by  a  cross 
plank  at  the  middle.  If  made  nine  feet  long,  four  feet 
wide,  and  sixteen  inches  deep,  it  will  float  a  ton  of  muck. 
A  runner  is  placed  undereach  side,  so  that  the  boat  can 
be  drawn  upon  the  land.  A  hook  or  eye  should  be 
placed  on  each  side,  and  others  at  one  end,  by  which  the 
boat  may  be  drawn.  While  floating,  the  boat  is  moved 
by  handspikes.  The  place  where  the  muck  is  heaped  to 
dry,  should  be  as  near  as  possible  to  the  bed  from  which 
it  is  dug. 

The  muck  may  be  very  peaty,  or  the  material  really 
may  be  peat — that  is,  consisting  almost  entirely  of  vege¬ 
table  matter  and  ash — whereas  muck,  as  the  word  is  ap¬ 
plied  in  the  United  States,  is  used  to  mean  such  as 
would  be  of  little  or  no  value  as  fuel,  from  the  amount 
of  soil  or  sand  or  calcareous  matter  in  it  ;  but  it  is  useful 
as  manure.  The  peaty  mucks  are  greatly  benefited  by 
being  treated  with  lime- — in  fact  it  is  only  by  acting  upon 
them  with  lime  or  ashes  that  they  can  be  made  rapidly 
fit  for  composts  or  for  application  to  the  land.  The  old 
rule  to  slake  stone-lime  with  strong  brine,  adding  only 
brine  enough  to  dry-slake  the  lime,  is  a  very  good  one. 
Such  lime  may  be  depended  upon  for  the  best  results 
when  composted  with  muck. 


HOW  TO  BURN  LIME. 

The  application  of  lime  improves  the  mechanical  tex¬ 
ture  of  heavy  soils,  and  this  will  frequently  compensate 
for  its  use,  if  the  lime  can  be  obtained  cheaply.  In  many 


PREPARING  AND  HANDLING  FERTILIZERS. 


150 


localities,  the  farmer  can  burn  the  lime  he  needs,  and 
thus  obtain  it  at  a  much  less  cost  than  the  market  price. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  build  a  kiln  of  masonry.  The 
cheapest  kiln  is  made  by  digging  an  excavation  in  a 
bank,  as  shown  in  figure  190.  If  much  lime  is  to  be 
burned,  it  will  pay  to  line  this  excavation  with  brick,  and 
place  an  iron  grating  across  near  the  bottom,  beneath 
which  the  fire  is  made.  Whether  the  kiln  is  so  made,  or 
constructed  only  in  a  temporary  manner,  it  must  be 
banked  up  in  front  with  earth,  after  the  limestone  is 
placed  in  it.  Where  the  iron  grating  is  used,  it  should 


Fig.  190.— A  LIME  KILN. 


project  out  in  front  as  far  as  the  bank  of  earth  will  per¬ 
mit,  while  under  it  is  used  a  sheet  iron  door,  to  close  the 
furnace  and  regulate  the  draft.  A  platform  is  built  just 
above  the  projection  of  the  grating,  to  support  the  earth 
banked  against  the  rock.  The  top  of  the  heap  is  covered 
with  earth,  leaving  a  hole  in  the  center  for  a  chimney. 
When  the  kiln  is  only  temporary,  an  arch  of  large  rocks 
takes  the  place  of  the  iron  grating,  and  the  sides  of  the 
kiln  are  lined,  as  the  rocks  are  laid  in,  with  large  stones 
instead  of  brick.  It  will  take  four  or  five  days,  with  a 
good  fire,  to  burn  the  kiln  sufficiently. 

Lime  may  also  be  burned  by  piling  the  stones  in  a 


160 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


conical  heap  above  ground.  Large  stones  are  used  to 
make  an  arch  under  the  heap,  and  the  cavity  below  the 
arch  is  filled  with  fuel.  Immediatelv  above  the  arch  is 
placed  a  layer  of  dry  wood, then  a  layer  of  lime-stones,  next 
a  layer  of  wood,  and  so  on  until  the  heap  is  completed. 
The  stones  are  laid  rather  loosely,  and  the  entire  heap  is 
covered  with  earth  to  the  depth  of  at  least  a  foot,  to  re¬ 
tain  the  heat,  leaving  an  opening  at  the  top  for  the  es¬ 
cape  of  smoke.  It  will  pay  to  insert  a  short  sheet-iron 
chimney  in  this  opening,  to  increase  the  draft,  as  a  hot 
fire  is  needed.  The  draft  is  regulated  by  opening  or 
closing  the  doorway  under  the  arch.  Do  not  disturb  the 
heap  until  it  is  perfectly  cool,  and  if  the  lime  is  not  to 
be  used  at  once,  it  should  be  protected  from  rain  by  a 
roof,  and  from  surface  water  by  erecting  a  low  bank 
about  it.  Where  limestone  boulders  can  be  gathered  in 
sufficient  quantities,  the  cost  of  lime  will  be  very  little, 
and  even  when  the  rock  must  be  quarried,  burning  lime 
will  frequently  yield  handsome  returns  when  the  weather 
does  not  admit  of  regular  farm  work. 


- KH - 

VALUE  OF  GAS  LIME. 

Gas  lime,  as  its  name  indicates,  is  a  product  of  gas 
works.  Quick  lime  is  spread  in  large  boxes,  called  puri¬ 
fiers  ;  the  gas  passes  through  these,  and  coming  in  con¬ 
tact  with  the  lime  is  deprived  of  its  impurities,  especially 
the  sulphur  it  contains.  When  the  lime  ceases  to  act,  it 
is  thrown  out  and  replaced  by  a  fresh  supply.  Gas  lime 
smells  strongly  of  sulphur,  and  contains  the  sulphides  of 
ammonia  and  of  lime.  These  are  fatal  to  plant  life,  and 
before  it  can  be  used  as  a  fertilizer,  the  lime  must  be  ex¬ 
posed  to  the  air  for  some  weeks.  When  unpleasant 
odors  are  no  longer  perceptible,  the  gas  lime  may  be  used 
in  the  same  manner  as  ordinary  lime.  It  still  consists 


PREPARING  AND  HANDLING  FERTILIZERS.  161 

largely  of  quick  lime,  and  contains  more  or  less  sulpliate 
of  lime  (gypsum  or  plaster),  formed  by  the  conversion  of 
the  dangerous  sulphide  into  sulphate  of  lime.  It  may 
be  used  after  exposure  to  mix  with  muck,  but  cannot 
safely  be  used  in  its  fresh  state.  It  is  an  easy  matter  to 
expose  it  before  adding  it  to  the  muck,  and  thus  be  on 
the  safe  side. 


BURNING  CLAY  AND  SODS. 

Burning  clay  for  manurial  purposes,  is  an  old  fashion, 
which  deserves  renewed  notice  and  practice.  Along  witn 
the  clay  or  wnh  ordinary  soil  or  swamp  muck,  may  be 
mingled  coarse  sods,  the  scrapings  of  road-side  ditches* 


Fig.  191.— BUENING  CLAY  AISfD  SODS. 


the  mossy  surface  and  hard  tussocks  of  swamp  meadows, 
rough  “  waste  wood,”  coarse  weeds,  and  other  similar 
matters  which  slowly  decay,  and  are  of  no  value  until 
they  are  decomposed.  These  combustible  matters  are 
placed  in  small  heaps  over  an  old  meadow,  which  needs 
renewal,  or  any  other  piece  of  land.  The  rough  waste 
matters  being  gathered,  placed,  and  covered  with  earth, 
so  that  they  will  burn  slowly,  in  the  manner  shown  in 
figure  191;  care  being  taken  to  so  arrange  them,  as  to 
distribute  the  heat  all  through  the  mass  and  the  earth 
with  which  it  is  covered.  These  heaps  are  fired  and  left 
to  burn  slowly  for  several  days,  when  the  dust  and  ashes 


162 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


f 

are  spread  over  the  surface.  The  lime  and  potash  thus 
made  available,  both  from  the  waste  material  and  the 
earth  covering,  furnish  considerable  fertilizing  matter. 


•O#- 


CONVERTING  STRAW  INTO  MANURE. 

In  the  West  the  object  is  to  feed  one-third  of  the  straw 
stack,  and  convert  the  balance  into  manure  as  rapidly  as 
possible.  The  straw  trampled  under  foot  by  the  cattle 
will  not  thoroughly  rot  within  a  year,  if  left  to  itself.  To 
rot  and  fine,  it  must  be  stirred  about,  and  the  swine  can 
be  made  to  do  this  work.  If  the  hogs  are  fed  on  the 
straw  twice  a  week,  they  will  move  the  entire  mass,  unless 
quite  deep,  rooting  after  stray  grains.  If  their  noses  do 
not  get  to  the  bottom  of  the  heap,  sharpen  a  heavy  stake 
and  prod  it  through  the  straw  ;  then  withdraw  it  and 
drop  shelled  corn  or  oats  into  the  hole.  In  this  way  a 
hole  can  be  made  every  few  feet  over  the  pile,  and  the 
hogs  will  turn  the  manure  thoroughly.  A  hog’s  snout  is 
a  very  cheap  and  effective  manure  hook.  The  hogs  must 
not  be  allowed  to  lie  on  the  rotting  straw,  as  this  is  al¬ 
most  sure  to  produce  disease  among  them.  They  become 
too  warm,  and  then  when  they  come  into  the  open  air 
contract  colds,  catarrhal  or  pulmonary  diseases.  If  the 
hogs  are  used  as  above  recommended,  straw  can  be  con¬ 
verted  into  well  rotted  and  fined  manure  within  six 
months  ;  and  if  the  straw  stack  is  put  on  level  ground, 
not  much  will  be  lost  during  this  rapid  conversion. 
When  from  twelve  to  eighteen  months  are  required  for 
the  rotting  of  the  manure — and  this  time  will  be  required 
when  deep  masses  are  not  disturbed — and  the  straw  is  on 
a  side  hill,  not  a  little  of  the  value  of  the  manure  is  lost 
by  being  washed  down  hill 


PREPARING  AND  HANDLING  FERTILIZERS.  163 


MANURE  FROM  MARL  AND  SHELLS. 

Marl  is  quite  abundant  in  some  localities,  and  in  others 
oyster  shells  can  be  had  for  the  hauling.  These  may  be 
profitably  burned  into  lime  for  use  as  a  fertilizer.  In  re¬ 
gard  to  this  use  of  lime,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the 


Fig.  192. — PIT  FOR  BURNING  MARL. 


larger  part  of  the  ash  of  agricultural  plants  consists  of 
lime,  and  that  it  is  thus  an  indispensable  plant  food.  It 
is  rarely  used  without  benefit,  but  is  most  useful  when 
applied  in  a  caustic  state,  or  when  it  is  freshly  burned. 
Enquiries  are  often  made  about  burning  marl  and  shells. 
An  easy  way  of  doing  this  is  in  piles,  commonly  called 
“pits,”  made  as  shown  in  figure  192.  A  level  spot  is 
chosen,  and  a  quantity  of  small  wood  is  spread  over  it, 
either  in  a  square,  or  better,  in  a  circle.  Two  or  three 
double  rows  of  stones,  covered  with  other  flat  stones,  are 
laid  as  at  a ,  a ,  to  form  flues.  A  layer  of  shells  or  marl 
is  thrown  upon  the  fuel,  and  other  alternate  layers  are 
added,  until  a  conical  heap  is  made.  Chimneys  of  small 
wood  or  chips  are  made  over  the  flues  as  the  heap  is 
built,  and  carried  to  the  top. 

-  ■  >o< - 


MAKING  FERTILIZER  FROM  BONES. 

It  is  well  enough  known  that  bone,  when  ground  fine, 
makes  one  of  the  best  and  cheapest  manures,  especially 
on  lands  long  in  use.  The  needs  of  farmers  with  abund¬ 
ant  capital  are  well  enough  met  in  the  commercial  fertil- 


134 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


/zers.  With  the  Experiment  Stations  to  analyze  the 
samples,  there  is  not  much  danger  of  adulteration.  The 
high  price  of  this  comminuted  bone,  two  cents  a  pound 
and  upward,  deters  many  farmers  from  using  it  on  a 
large  scale,  even  where  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  invest¬ 
ment  would  pay.  In  a  limited  way,  the  small  farmer 
has  the  means  within  his  reach,  of  reducing  several  bar¬ 
rels  of  bones  to  a  fine  powder  every  year.  A  solution  of 
potash  will  reduce  bone  to  a  fine  condition,  and  make  it 
available  for  plant  food.  Most  farmers  still  use  wood 
for  fuel,  and  the  ashes  from  the  fifteen  or  twenty  cords 
used  in  a  year,  if  saved,  would  reduce  all  the  bones  ordi¬ 
narily  within  reach  of  the  farmer.  The  old-fashioned 
leach  that  used  to  stand  at  almost  every  farmer’s  back¬ 
door  for  soap-making,  was  a  good  contrivance  for  reducing 
the  bones.  But  any  tight,  strong  cask  or  box,  will  an¬ 
swer  quite  as  well  for  this  purpose.  Water  poured  upon 
the  ashes  makes  a  lye,  or  solution  of  potash,  strong 
enough  to  decompose  the  bones.  The  casks  should  stand 
under  cover,  so  that  the  quantity  of  water  applied  to  the 
bone  and  ashes  will  be  under  control.  The  time  it  will 
take  to  reduce  the  bone  to  a  powder,  will  depend  upon 
the  amount  of  potash  in  the  ashes,  and  attention  be¬ 
stowed  upon  the  process.  It  is  essential  that  the  ashes 
and  bone  should  be  closely  packed  in  the  mass,  and  that 
they  be  kept  in  a  moist  state,  adding  water  as  it  evapo¬ 
rates  from  the  surface.  The  finer  the  bone  before  it  is 
packed  in  the  ashes,  the  sooner  will  it  be  reduced.  The 
process  can  be  hastened  by  putting  into  the  mass  a  few 
pounds  of  common  potash.  But  this  is  only  necessary  to 
save  time.  Ashes  from  hickory  or  any  other  hard  wood 
contain  sufficient  potash  to  decompose  the  bone.  When 
the  mass  is  soft  enough  to  break  down  with  a  spade  or 
shovel,  it  can  be  mixed  with  land  plaster,  dried  peat,  or 
loam,  to  make  it  convenient  for  handling.  It  is  a  con¬ 
centrated  fertilizer,  to  be  used  with  discretion  in  the  hill, 


APPLIANCES  EOR  GARDEN  AND  ORCHARD.  165 


or  applied  as  a  top  dressing  to  growing  crops  in  the  gar¬ 
den  or  field.  We  are  quite  sure  that  any  one  who  uses 
this  preparation  of  bone  and  wood  ashes,  and  sees  the  vig¬ 
orous  push  it  gives  to  garden  and  other  crops,  will  be 
likely  to  continue  it.  But  many  farmers  near  seaports 
and  railroad  stations,  use  coal  mainly  for  fuel,  and  wdll 
have  to  resort  to  a  hand  or  horse-mill  to  use  up  the  waste 
bones.  Small  mills  are  extensively  used  by  poultry-men, 
for  crushing  oyster  shells  as  well  as  bone,  and  the  ma¬ 
chine  can  be  adjusted  to  break  the  bone  coarsely  for  hen 
feed.  The  oil  and  gelatine  of  the  bones  have  an  alimen¬ 
tary  value,  and,  turned  into  eggs,  pay  much  better  than 
when  used  as  a  fertilizer  for  the  soil. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

APPLIANCES  FOR  THE  GARDEN  AND  ORCHARD. 
PAPER  PLANT  PROTECTOR. 

The  most  effectual  means  for  protecting  young  melon 
and  cucumber  plants  against  some  of  their  injurious 


enemies,  is  to  inclose  the  young  vines  in  bottomless  boxes 
of  some  kind.  Various  more  or  less  expensive  and  elabor¬ 
ate  forms  have  been  invented  and  are  offered  for  sale. 
The  principal  objection  to  most  of  these  is  their  cost. 


166 


PARM  APPLIANCES. 


Figures  193  and  194  represent  a  device  which  is  free  from 
this  objection.  It  consists  simply  of  a  piece  of  card-board 


or  stiff  paper  of  any  kind,  as  seen  in  figure  193.  When 
the  ends  are  brought  together,  and  the  slits,  indicated 
in  the  engraving,  made  to  interlock,  a  cone,  as  seen  in 
figure  194,  is  produced  which,  when  put  around  a  plant, 
furnishes  as  complete  a  protector  against  insects  as  the 
most  expensive  device. 


MUSLIN-COVERED  PLANT  SCREEN. 

To  make  the  device,  figure  195,  take  four  strips, 
one-haJf  inch  thick  and  one  inch  wide,  and  twelve 


Fig.  195. — PLANT  PROTECTOR. 


inches  long  ;  bore  a  hole  in  one  end  of  these,  through 
which  pass  a  wire,  the  ends  of  which  are  twisted 


APPLIANCES  FOR  GARDEN  AND  ORCHARD.  16? 


together,  but  not  so  tightly  as  to  prevent  the  op¬ 
posite  ends  of  the  pieces  from  being  spread  apart  from 
eight  inches  to  a  foot,  making  a  tent-shaped  frame. 
Cheap  muslin  is  tacked  on  the  frame,  spreading  the  pieces 
before  doing  so.  The  muslin  should  be  brought  down  to 
within  about  two  inches  of  the  ends  of  the  sticks,  so  as 
to  allow  them  to  be  run  into  the  ground  that  distance, 
when  in  use.  When  not  in  use,  the  protectors  can  be 
closed  up  and  take  but  little  room,  and  if  properly  cared 
for,  they  will  last  several  seasons. 


PROTECTED  PLANT  LABEL. 

Various  devices  to  prevent  the  washing  off  of  the  names 
written  on  plant  labels  have  been  invented  from  time  to 


Fig.  196. — IMPROVED  PLANT  LABEL. 


time.  A  novel  one  is  shown  in  figure  196.  It  con¬ 
sists  in  fastening,  with  a  small  screw,  a  short  piece  of 
label  over  the  name,  as  seen  at  M;  a  cross-section  of  the 


1G8 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


label  is  shown  at  TV,  and  at  P  the  cover  is  partly  raised.  This 
arrangement  may  be  applied  to  any  size  of  labels.  The 
great  difficulty  with  wooden  labels  is  not  that  the  name 
becomes  obliterated,  but  that  the  portion  in  the  ground 
decays.  This  may  be  avoided  by  using  Locust,  which  is 
expensive. 

- »o»  ■  - 

POLES  FOR  BEANS  AND  OTHER  CLIMBERS. 

White  birches  and  alders,  so  commonly  used  for  bean 
poles,  are  about  the  poorest,  for  they  last  only  one  season 
at  the  best,  and  sometimes  break  off  at  the  surface  of  the 
ground  and  let  down  the  beautiful  pyramid  of  green  be¬ 
fore  the  pods  are  ripe.  White  Cedar  from  the  swamps  is 
durable,  and  the  rough  bark  enables  the  vines  to  climb 
without  any  help  from  strings,  but  these  are  not  al¬ 
ways  accessible.  Red  Cedar  is  much  more  widely  distri¬ 
buted,  and  on  the  whole  makes  the  best  bean  pole.  The 
wood  is  as  durable  as  the  White  Cedar,  and  young  trees, 
from  which  poles  are  made,  grow  quite  stout  at  the  ground, 
and,  if  well  set,  will  resist  very  strong  winds.  A  set  of 
these  poles  will  last  for  a  generation.  For  bean  poles,  all 
the  side  branches  are  trimmed  off,  but  for  a  support  for 
ornamental  climbers,  these  may  be  left  on.  A  Cedar, 
six  or  eight  feet  high,  with  the  branches  gradually  short¬ 
ened  from*  below  upwards,  makes  an  excellent  support 
for  ornamental  vines.  One  of  these,  covered  with  a 
clematis,  or  other  showy  climber,  makes  a  pyramid  of 
great  beauty.  It  is  well  to  prepare  a  supply  of  poles  for 
beans  and  other  plants  before  the  work  is  pressing. 


POTTING  STRAWBERRY  PLANTS. 

Figure  197  shows  a  simple  method  of  turning  old  tin 
cans  into  contrivances  for  potting  strawberries.  U n solder 


APPLIANCES  EOS  GAiiDEIS  AND  ORCHARD.  109 


the  cans,  and  cut  into  pieces  of  about  three  by  seven 
inches.  Turn  back  one  quarter  of  an  inch  of  each  end, 

so  that  when  the  strips  are  bent  around,, 
they  will  clasp  together,  as  shown  in  the 
engraving.  In  potting,  the  contrivance 
is  placed  on  the  bed  near  the  runner,  and 
pressed  into  the  ground  with  the  sole  of 
the  foot.  The  sharp  edges  allow  it  to 
push  through  the  soil  easily.  A  runner 
is  placed  in  the  center  of  the  cylinder, 
and  held  by  a  stick  or  stone,  which  also  serves  to  mark 
the  place.  When  the  plants  are  well  rooted,  the  tin  pots 
are  taken  up,  unclasped,  and  the  ball  of  earth  placed  in 
the  new  bed  provided  for  it. 


Fig.  197. 

PLANT  POTTER. 


STAND  EOR  BERRY  BASKETS. 

During  the  berry  picking  season  much  time  is  lost  in 
the  field,  though  the  lack  of  a  suitable  box  or  stand  for 


Fig.  198. — BERRY  PICKING  STAND. 


transferring  the  filled  baskets  to  the  packing  house. 
Figure  198  illustrates  a  very  convenient  and  simple  stand 
for  this  purpose.  It  may  be  made  to  contain  either  nine, 
twelve,  sixteen,  or  twenty  baskets,  as  may  be  desired 
The  handle  is  made  of  a  barrel  hoop  nailed  firmly  to  the 


170 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


sides.  Suitable  legs  are  attached  to  the  stand  to  raise  it 
irom  the  ground. 


TUBE  FOR  WATERING  PLANTS. 

Figure  199  shows  an  implement  for  watering  garden 
plants.  It  is  a  tin  tube,  one-half  inch  in  diameter,  eight 
inches  long,  perforated  near  the  bottom,  and 
with  a  conical  end.  The  upper  end,  b,  is  in 
the  form  of  a  funnel.  In  using  this  device, 
insert  the  conical  end  of  the  tube  in  the  ground 
as  near  the  jfiant  as  convenient,  without  dis¬ 
turbing  the  roots,  and  turn  the  water  into 
the  funnel.  The  water  will  pass  out  into  the 
soil  through  the  perforations  at  the  bottom. 
The  soil  is  not  baked  on  the  surface  when 
watered  in  this  manner,  and  the  operation  is 
Fig.  199.  very  quickly  done.  Any  local  tinsmith  can 
make  the  tube  at  a  slight  expense.  A  small 
flower  pot  is  sometimes  sunk  in  the  soil  near  the  plant,  and 
the  water,  when  poured  into  it,  will  gradually  soak  away. 

-  ■  ■  •04 - 


MOVABLE  TRELLIS  FOR  GRAPES. 

A  grape  trellis,  possessing  several  good  points,  is  shown 
in  figure  200.  The  wooden  posts,  which  need  not  be 
fastened  together,  are  of  3  by  4  stuff.  If  leant  against 
each  other,  their  own  weight  and  that  of  the  vines  will 
hold  them  in  place.  They  are  joined  by  smooth  galvan¬ 
ized  fencing  wire.  The  posts  must  be  braced  inside,  as 
seen  in  the  illustration.  If  it  is  desired  to  lav  down  the 
vines  in  the  fall,  the  staples  can  be  drawn  and  the  wires 
pulled  out,  greatly  simplifying  the  work.  The  trellis 
being  double,  a  row  of  vines  may  be  planted  on  each  side. 
Another  point  in  its  favor  is  that  it  allows  the  picker  to 


APPLIANCES  FOR  GARDEN  AND  ORCHARD.  171 


get  at  the  bunches  on  the  under  sides  of  the  vines  easily 
and  without  disturbing  the  vines.  The  trellis  is  as  cheap 
as  any,  is  strong  and  durable,  and  does  not  require  the 


Fig.  200.— MOVABLE  GRAPE  TRELLIS. 


digging  of  holes,  while  it  may  be  taken  out  of  the  way 
when  the  vines  are  laid  down,  and  stored  under  shelter  in 
a  small  space  until  needed  again. 


TOOL  FOR  CUTTING  EDGINGS. 

No  grass-plot,  walk,  or  flower-bed,  set  in 
turf,  is  complete,  unless  its  edges  are  kept 
neatly  trimmed.  The  work  may  be  done 
with  a  sharpened  spade,  but  it  is  better  to 
use  a  regular  edging-tool.  An  old  hoe  can 
be  taken  to  the  blacksmith,  who  will 
straighten  out  the  shank,  and  round  off 
the  corners  of  the  blade  with  a  file,  and 
the  tool  is  an  excellent  sod-trimmer,  and 
very  light  to  handle.  For  cutting  sods, 
this  makes  much  easier  work  than  the 
spade,  though  that  is  needed  for  lifting 
the  turf  when  cut.  Using  a  board  as  a  guide,  the  cut¬ 
ting  will  be  rapidly  done. 


uMmMi-j 

Fig.  201. 


172 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


SUBSTITUTE  FOR  PEA  BRUSH. 

The  best  substitute  for  pea  brush  is  a  trellis  of  galvan¬ 
ized  iron  wire.  The  peas  are  sown  in  double  rows,  six 
inches  apart.  A  post,  six  inches  in  diameter,  is  set  firmly 
at  each  end  of  the  row  ;  it  may  be  round,  set  three  feet 
in  the  ground,  and  of  a  hight  suited  to  the  variety  of  pea. 
As  soon  as  the  vines  are  large  enough,  the  wire  is  made 
fast  to  the  post,  about  six  inches  from  the  ground,  carried 
to  and  passed  around  the  post  at  the  other  end,  and  back 
to  the  starting  point.  Here  it  is  made  fast;  it  may  be  cut 
off,  but  still  better,  two  or  three  turns  are  taken  around 
the  post  and  another  double  wire  stretched  about  eight 
inches  above  the  first,  and  so  on  until  as  many  wires  as 
needed  are  put  in  place.  No.  18  wire,  which  measures 
150  feet  to  the  pound,  is  suitable.  If  over  200  feet  long, 
a  similar  post  should  be  set  mid-way  of  the  row.  Stakes 
(plasterers’  laths  will  answer)  are  set  every  ten  or  fifteen 
feet  along  the  row,  to  keep  the  wires  from  sagging. 
These  have  notches  cut  in  them,  in  which  the  wires  rest ; 
or  the  wires  may  be  attached  to  them  by  means  of  staples 
or  cord.  When  no  longer  needed,  the  wire  is  wound  up 
on  a  reel,  and,  with  the  posts,  stored  away  for  another 
year.  Pea-growers  for  market  allow  the  vines  to  lie  upon 
the  ground,  and  claim  that  the  crop  is  not  enough  larger 
when  brushed,  to  pay  the  cost  of  cutting  and  placing  the 
sticks.  In  the  garden,  neatness,  and  especially  the 
greater  ease  of  picking,  make  it  necessary  to  use  brush, 
or  a  substitute.  The  chief  precaution  to  be  observed  is, 
to  have  the  wires  of  this  trellis  so  near  together  that  the 
vines  can  reach  them  as  soon  as  a  support  is  needed. 

- HO. - - 

TRELLIS  FOR  TOMATOES. 

A  tomato  trellis,  which  never  fails  to  give  satisfaction, 
is  shown  m  figures  202  and  203.  The  standards  or  legs 


APPLIANCES  POP  GARDEN  AND  ORCHARD.  17S 


are  made  of  one  by  one  and  a  half  inch  stuff,  three  feet 
long,  and  tapering  slightly  toward  the  top.  The  slats 
are  selected  lath.  Figure  202  is  an  end  view  of  the  trellis 
in  position  ;  figure  203  shows  the  trellis  folded.  Wires 


extend  across  the  top  of  the  trellis,  and  when  in  position, 
they  loop  over  the  ends  of  the  stands,  and  hold  it  at  the 
proper  width.  The  standards  are  fastened  together  where 
they  cross  with  one-quarter  inch  bolts,  two  inches  long. 
Two  lengths  of  the  trellis  are  sufficient  for  three  tomato 
plants.  It  may  be  placed  in  position  when  the  plants 
have  attained  a  hight  of  six  or  eight  inches.  At  the  end 


of  each  season,  after  the  crop  is  gathered,  the  trellises  are 
taken  up,  given  a  coat  of  paint  or  crude  petroleum,  folded 
and  packed  away  in  a  dry  place.  This  form  of  trellis  has 
the  advantages  of  strength,  lightness  and  portability. 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


m 


TOOLS  FOR  KILLING  WEEDS. 

Weeds  are  easily  killed  when  they  are  first  seen,  and 
more  easily  still,  before  they  are  seen  at  all.  A  heavy 
rake  is  better  than  a  hoe  for  this  work,  and  will  do  more 
m  ten  minutes,  than  can  be  done  with  a  hoe  in  an  hour. 
An  implement  made  as  in  figure  204,  will  do  this  work  of 


weeding  in  an  excellent  manner.  This  is  made  of  a 
heavy  rake  head,  with  a  handle  attached  as  shown,  and 
furnished  with  a  number  of  teeth  placed  about  an  inch 
apart.  The  teeth  may  be  made  of  forty-penny  nails,  or 
one-quarter  inch  round  iron,  the  weight  of  which  will 
bury  them  in  the  soil  without  any  effort.  It  is  much 
more  easy  to  work  with  this  implement,  than  with  a 
lighter  rake.  The  beds  may  be  cleaned  close  to  the 
plants,  and  it  should  be  used  as  soon  as  the  weeds  begin 
to  appear. 

For  killing  perennial  weeds,  a  spud  is  a  convenient  im¬ 
plement  with  which  to  cut  off  the  roots  below  the  surface. 


Fig.  205.— SPUD  FOR  KILLING  WEEDS. 

A  good  spud  may  be  made  from  a  carpenter’s  chisel  of 
large  size.  This  should  be  attached  to  a  handle  sufficiently 
long  to  allow  it  to  be  used  without  stooping.  By  thrust¬ 
ing  this  diagonally  against  the  root,  that  may  be  cut  off 
as  far  below  the  surface  as  desired.  Some  weeds,  how- 


APPLIANCES  FOR  GARDEN  AN  D  ORCHARD. 

ever,  such  as  dandelion,  plantain,  etc.,  are  not  killed  by 
merely  cutting  them,  but  need  the  application  of  some 
destructive  liquid  to  make  complete  work.  In  England, 
oil  of  vitroil  (sulphuric  acid)  is  used  for  this  purpose,  but 
that  is  dangerous  to  handle,  and  must  be  kept  in  glass. 
Strong  brine  or  coal-oil  is  sometimes  applied  to  the  roots 
to  destroy  them.  We  give  an  illustration  of  a  vessel  for 
the  application  of  liquids,  which  is  attached  to  the  spud, 
and  allows  the  cutting  and  killing  to  be  done  at  one 
operation.  Figure  205  shows  the  spud,  a ,  with  its  attach¬ 
ment,  a  tin  vessel  with  a  tapering  nozzle  and  holding 
about  a  quart,  at  b.  At  c,  is  a  valve,  which  covers  a 
small  air-hole,  against  which  it  is  pressed  by  a  spring, 
and  which  may  be  raised  by  the  cord,  e.  After  cutting 
the  root,  a  pull  of  the  cord  will  raise  the  valve,  allow  air 
to  enter  the  vessel,  and  a  small  quantity  of  the  liquid  will 
pass  out  and  come  in  contact  with  the  root. 


VARIOUS  FRUIT  PICKERS. 

A  good  picker  is  shown  in  figures  206,  207  and  208. 
Figure  206  is  the  picker.  The  pieces,  a  and  b,  are  iron, 
shaped  as  seen  in  the  cut.  They  work  on  a  rivet,  and 
are  fastened  securely  to  the  end  of  the  pole.  Holes  are 
punched  through  a  and  b ,  and  stiff  wires  inserted,  form¬ 
ing  a  cage  for  the  fruit.  The  toothed  end  of  piece 
b  is  sharp,  and  slides  over  the  end  of  a,  which  may  be 
sharp  or  not.  A  small  hole  is  bored  through  the  pole, 
and  a  notch  cut  in  the  front  edge  for  a  small  pulley,  d. 
A  strong  cord  is  attached  to  the  lower  end  of  b,  and  passes 
through  the  hole  over  the  pulley,  and  down  the  pole 
through  screw-eyes  placed  a  short  distance  apart.  Figure 
207  is  a  section  of  the  lower  end  of  the  pole.  Eighteen 
inches  from  the  end,  the  pole  is  squared  for  about  fifteen 
inches.  Over  this  squared  portion  is  fitted  a  sliding-box 


FAllM  APPLIANCES. 


176 

handle.  A  thumb -stop  is  fastened  to  the  upper  end,  as 
shown  in  figure  208.  The  thumb  end  is  held  up  by  a 
small  spring,  which  presses  the  upper  end  into  notches  in  an 
iron  rac het-bar  fitted  into  the  pole.  A  screw-eye  is  inserted 
in  the  upper  end,  and  a  cord  attached.  The  pole  may  be 
of  any  desired  length. 

To  pick  apples,  grasp  the  pole  at  the  lower  end  with 


Fig.  206.  Fig.  207.  Fig.  208. 


one  hand,  and  by  the  sliding-box  handle  with  the  other. 
Press  the  thumb-piece  and  slide  it  up,  and  the  weight  of 
piece  l  opens  the  jaws  of  the  picker.  When  the  apple  is 
in  the  cage,  draw  the  slides  down  until  the  points  of  the 
picker  meet  on  the  apple  stem.  The  thumb-stop  will 
hold  it  secure.  Turn  the  pole  slowly  without  pulling, 
pushing,  or  shaking  the  limb,  and  the  apple  will  come  off 


APPLIANCES  FOR  GARDEN-  AND  ORCHARD.  177 

easily.  The  cage  of  the  picker  should  be  large  enough  to 
contain  the  largest  apple,  and  enough  wires  may  be 
attached  to  hold  the  smallest.  The  jaws  should  not  be 
over  one-eighth  of  an  inch  thick,  flattened  on  the  inside, 
to  prevent  bruising  the  ripe  fruit.  They  may  be  wrapped 
with  cloth,  if  thought  necessary. 

A  cheap  and  simple  picker  may  be  made  by  bending  a 


Fig.  309. 


stiff  wire  into  the  form  of  a  circle  six  inches  in  diameter, 
with  one  side  of  the  circle  prolonged  three  inches  into  a 
V-shaped  projection.  Upon  this  wire  sew  a  cloth  bag  a 
foot  or  so  deep,  and  fasten  it  on  to  a  pole  by  the  end 
opposite  the  V-shaped  extremity.  This  V-shaped  projec¬ 
tion  will  serve  as  a  corner,  in  which  to  catch  the  apple 
and  pull  it  off,  allowing  it  to  fall  into  the  bag.  An  excel- 


178 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


lent  picker,  as  shown  in  figure  210,  can  be  made  from 
stiff  wire  by  a  tinner.  The  span  across  the  top  should 
be  about  six  inches,  and  the  depth  from  eight  to  ten 
inches.  The  wires  should  not  be  more  than  a  half-inch 
apart  at  their  tips.  The  wires  being  more  or  less  flexible, 
the  apple  is  apt  to  draw  through  them,  if  they  are  not 
close  together.  Care  should  also  be  taken  to  have  the  im¬ 
plement  made  as  light  as  possible.  A  bungling  mechanic 
will  probably  use  too  much  solder.  Another  good  picker 
is  pictured  in  figure  209.  It  is  light,  durable  and  pleasant 
to  handle.  When,  however,  an  apple,  being  very  short 
stemmed,  lies  close  to  a  limb,  it  is  much  more  easily 
removed  by  the  former  device  than  by  this.  A  simple, 
flattened  hook,  with  a  thin,  almost  cutting  edge,  secured 
on  the  end  of  a  pole,  figure  211,  is  often  handy  for  pulling 
off  stray  apples.  This  is  the  best  implement  for  thinning 
apples. 


■  >o» 

\ 

FRUIT  LADDERS. 

The  construction  is  easily  understood  from  tne  engrav¬ 
ing.  The  method  of  using  deep  fruit  baskets  with  a  hook 
attached  is  also  shown  in  figure  112.  The  use  of  a  com¬ 
mon  grain  bag  as  a  receptacle  for  picking  fruit  has  some 
important  advantages.  One  side  of  the  mouth  of  the  bag  is 
tied  to  the  corresponding  corner  at  the  bottom,  first  put¬ 
ting  an  apple  in  the  corner  to  hold  the  string  from  slip¬ 
ping  off.  The  bag  is  then  hung  over  the  shoulder  with 
the  mouth  in  front.  The  picker  has  both  hands  free  and 
can  empty  the  bag  by  lowering  it  into  the  barrel,  without 
bruising  the  fruit. 

Another  form  is  shown  in  figure  213.  To  make  it, 
select  a  chestnut  pole,  eighteen  feet  long,  or  of  the  desired 
length.  At  about  four  feet  from  the  top,  or  smaller  end 
of  the  pole,  nail  on  a  band  of  hoop  iron,  to  prevent  split- 


appliances  eor  garden  and  Orchard.  179 


tiug,  and  rip  up  the  pole  in  the  center  as  far  as  the  band. 
The  halves  of  the  pole  are  spread  apart  three  and  a  half 
feet  at  the  base,  and  secured.  JL he  places  for  the  rungs 
arc  then  laid  out,  and  the  holes  b  >red  5  those  for  the 
lower  rungs  should  be  one  and  three-eighths  inch,  the 
upper  one  inch  ;  drive  them  in  place  and  wedge  fast. 


The  distance  between  the  rungs  is  usually  a  foot  ;  when 
farther  apart,  they  are  fatiguing  in  use.  A  ladder  of  this 
kind,  on  account  of  its  small  width  above,  is  easily  thrust 
in  among  the  branches,  without  breaking  them,  and  is 
more  convenient  to  use  on  large  trees,  than  those  of  the 
ordinary  shape. 


180 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


JAPANESE  PRUNING  SAW. 


The  Japanese  use  a  pull  saw  instead  of  a  push  saw. 
One  of  these  is  quite  handy,  especially  for  pruning.  The 
teeth  are  like  those  of  a  rip  saw,  reversed,  and  cut  when 
the  saw  is  pulled  towards  one.  One  of  these  saws,  made 


Fig.  214.— PRUNING  SAW. 

as  shown  in  figure  214,  and  fixed  to  a  pole  of  convenient 
size,  will  be  found  very  useful  in  cutting  branches  of  tall 
trees,  as  in  pulling  there  is  no  tendency  to  bend  the  saw 
or  the  pole. 

— ■  aO» ■  — 


RABBITS  AND  MICE  IN  THE  ORCHARD. 

Not  the  least  of  the  enemies  of  young  orchard  trees  is 
the  rabbit.  He  will  not  injure  the  trees  in  summer, 
when  he  has  an  abundance  of  succulent  food  ;  but  in 
winter  the  tender  bark  is  to  him  a  dainty  that  he  will 
partake  of,  if  it  is  not  made  distasteful  to  him,  or  he  is  not 
kept  away.  Making  the  snow  into  a  solid  mound  about 
the  tree  will  keep  away  mice,  but  not  rabbits,  though  it 
is  often  said  it  would.  The  rabbits  will  get  on  the  mound 
and  nibble  awav.  Besides,  we  don’t  have  snow  half  the 
time  during  the  winter.  The  best  way  is  to  make  the 
bark  distasteful  to  the  rabbit.  He  likes  neither  blood, 
nor  grease,  nor  the  odor  of  flesh.  When  you  butcher, 
take  the  waste  parts  of  the  animals,  and  with  these  parts 
rub  the  trunks  as  far  up  as  the  rabbits  can  reach.  The 
rabbits  never  nibble  a  tree  so  treated,  while  the  grease  or 
blood  remains. 

If  the  rabbits  “bark”  a  tree,  the  first  thing  to  be  done 
is  to  examine  the  extent  of  the  injury.  Frequently  it  is 


APPLIANCES  FOB  GABDEN  AND  OBCHA^D.  181 


not  so  bad  as  it  looks,  and  the  inner  bark  is  not  entirely 
removed.  If  this  covers  even  a  fourth  *of  the  wounded 
portion,  and  connects  the  bark  above  the  wound  with  that 
below  it,  the  chances  are  that  the  wound  will  heal,  if  dry¬ 
ing  can  be  prevented.  The  ordinary  grafting  wax,  applied 
on  old,  worn  cotton  cloth,  or  on  paper,  as  used  in  graft- 
ing,  should  be  applied  over  the  injured  portion.  This, 
especially  on  quite  small  trees,  will  prevent  all  evaporation. 
Another  application  is  the  old  grafting  clay,  made  by 


Fig.  215. — MANNER  OF  INSERTING  THE  CIONS. 

thoroughly  mixing  and  beating  together  stiff  clay  with 
half  as  much  cow  manure.  Apply  this  over  the  wound 
quite  thickly,  and  fasten  it  in  place  by  wrapping  with  an 
old  cloth  and  tying  with  strings.  If  the  inner  bark  is 
completely  gone,  nothing  remains  but  to  bridge  over  the 
wound  with  cions,  and  thus  restore  the  communication  be¬ 
tween  the  roots  and  top.  The  cions  may  be  taken  from  the 
same  tree,  if  they  can  be  spared,  or  those  from  another  of 
the  same  kind  will  answer  as  well.  The  methods  of  cut- 


182 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


ting  the  cions  and  inserting  them  are  so  plainly  shown  in 
figure  215  that  description  is  unnecessary.  A  small  chisel 
may  be  used  to  aid  in  setting  the  cions.  This  method  of 
cutting  the  ends  is  better  than  making  the  slope  on  the 
opposite  side.  If  the  wound  is  low  enough,  it  may  be 
covered  with  a  mound  of  earth  ;  if  not,  employ  one  of 
the  methods  suggested  above. 


IMPLEMENTS  USED  IN  CRANBERRY  CULTURE. 

4 

A  turfing  axe,  shown  figure  216,  consists  of  a  thin 
steel  blade,  hatchet-faced,  and  about  six  inches  square. 


This  blade  is  made  fast  to  a  stout  hickory  handle,  some 
two  feet  and  a  half  long,  in  the  same  manner  as  a  common 
wood  axe.  In  expert  hands,  this  axe  does  wonderful 


Fig.  217. — HAULING  RAKE. 


execution  upon  the  tough,  interlacing  roots,  with  which 
the  surface  of  the  bog  is  filled. 

A  hoe,  shaped  like  a  grubbing  hoe,  is  the  implement 
used  for  grading.  Every  farmer  knows  what  that  is  ; 
but  the  grading  hoe,  figure  218,  should  be  made  of  the 


APPLIANCES  FOR  GARDEN  AND  ORCHARD. 


183 


best  steel,  and  ground  to  an  edge  like  an  axe — the  object 
being  to  cut  all  the  fine  roots  to  pieces,  and  get  out  such 


Fig  218. — GRADING  HOE. 

O 


of  them  as  escaped  when  the  trees,  stumps,  shoots,  and 
larger  wood  were  removed. 


Fig.  219. — SPREADER. 

The  sand  is  spread  by  means  of  a  “  Spreader,” 
figure  219,  made  of  a  piece  of  one-inch  white  oak  board, 


about  fifteen  inches  long  by  three  inches  wide,  and  fas¬ 
tened  to  a  handle. 


184 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


A  “  Marker,”  shown  in  figure  220,  is  made  of  a  piece 
of  two  by  four  inch  joist,  about  nine  feet  long,  having 
teeth  eighteen  inches  apart,  and  a  handle  the  length  of  a 
rake-handle.  The  teeth  are  eight  inches  long,  made  of 
white  oak,  driven  through  holes  bored  in  the  joist  for  the 
purpose.  The  implement  is  made  similar  to  a  common 
rake  with  teeth  far  apart,  and  the  whole  made  stronger 
to  stand  harder  usage,  by  having  stays  running  from  the 
handle  to  the  head,  which  holds  the  teeth. 


CHAPTER  X. 

APPLIANCES  FOR  SLAUGHTERING  HOGS  AND  CURING 

THE  MEAT. 

STICKING  HOGS. 

The  usual  method  of  killing  hogs  on  the  farm  is  to 

o  o 

thrust  a  sticking  knife  into  the  throat,  severing  the  large 
veins.  It  requires  experience,  nerve,  and  skill  to  do  this 
properly.  The  hog  should  be  thrown  on  its  back,  and 
held  there  by  an  assistant,  while  the  operator  gives  the 
fatal  thrust.  With  a  keen  double-edged  knife  in  his 
right  hand,  he  feels  with  his  left  for  the  proper  place  to 
insert  the  knife.  Having  found  it,  he  sticks  in  the  knife, 
aiming  directly  toward  the  base  of  the  tail.  If  properly 
done,  the  large  veins  are  severed,  and  the  hog  soon  bleeds 
to  death.  If  the  knife  veers  to  either  side,  a  gash  is 
made  in  one  shoulder,  the  death  is  slow  and  painful,  and 
the  blood  settles  in  the  flesh. 

- *o« - 

A  BETTER  WAY. 

With  a  view  to  avoiding  all  mishaps,  saving  pain,  and 
leaving  the  operator  free  to  sever  the  veins  without  em¬ 
barrassment  from  the  squealing  and  struggling  victim,  the 


SLAUGHTERING  HOGS  AND  CURING  HEAT.  185 


design  called  “  The  Stunner, ”  figure  221  has  been  in¬ 
vented.  It  fits  over  the  head  of  the  intended  victim,  as 
seen  in  figures  222  and  223,  and  a  sharp  blow  on  the 
plate  over  the  forehead  drives  the  pin  into  the  brain, 


Fig.  223. 

THE  STUNNER  ADJUSTED. 


causing  insensibility  instantly,  and  death  will  not  be 
long  delayed.  The  use  of  such  a  mask  is  made  compul¬ 
sory  in  many  countries  of  Europe.  Such  a  contrivance 
is  not  only  convenient,  but  humane,  and  appeals  to  the 
better  nature  of  every  man  who  is  under  the  necessity  of 
killing  a  dumb  beast.  As  soon  as  the  animal  is  struck, 
the  throat  is  cut  to  insure  free  bleeding. 

- 90+ - 


HEATING  THE  WATER  FOR  SCALDING. 

For  heating  scalding  water  and  rendering  lard,  when 
one  has  not  kettles  or  cauldrons  ready  to  set  in  brick  or 
stone,  a  simple  method  is  to  put  down  two  forked  stakes 
firmly,  as  shown  in  figure  224,  lay  in  them  a  pole  to  sup¬ 
port  the  kettles,  and  build  a  wood  fire  around  them  on 
the  ground.  A  more  elaborate  arrangement  is  shown 
in  figure  225,  which  serves  not  only  to  heat  the  water, 
but  as  a  scalding  tub  as  well.  It  is  made  of  two-inch 


m 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


pine  boards,  six  feet  long,  and  two  feet  wide,  rounded  at 
the  ends.  A  heavy  plate  of  sheet  iron  is  nailed  with  rod 
nails  on  the  bottom  and  ends.  Let  the  iron  project 


Fig.  224. — HEATING  THE  WATER. 


about  one  inch  on  each  side.  The  ends,  being  rounded, 
will  prevent  the  fire  from  burning  the  wood- work.  They 
also  make  it  handier  for  dipping  sheep,  scalding  hogs,  or 


Fig.  225. — HEATING  AND  SCALDING  VAT. 

for  taking  out  the  boiled  food.  The  box  is  set  on  two 
walls  eighteen  inches  high,  and  the  hind  end  of  the 
brick-work  is  built  into  a  short  chimney. 

- *0* - 

SCALDING  TUBS  AND  VATS. 

Various  devices  are  employed  for  scalding  hogs,  with¬ 
out  lifting  them  by  main  force.  For  heavy  hogs  one 


SLAUGHTERING  hogs  and  curing  meat. 


18* 


may  use  three  strong  poles,  fastened  at  the  top  with  a 
log  chain,  which  supports  a  simple  tackle,  figure  226.  A 
very  good  arrangement  is  shown  in  figure  227.  A  sled  is 
made  firm  with  driven  stakes,  and  covered  with  planks 
or  boards.  At  the  rear  end  the  scalding  cask  is  set  in 
the  ground,  its  upper  edge  on  a  level  with  the  platform, 
and  inclined  as  much  as  it  can  be  and  hold  sufficient 
water.  A  large,  long  hog  is  scalded  one  end  at  a  time. 
The  more  the  cask  is  inclined,  the  easier  will  be  the  lifting. 


Fig.  226. — TACKLE  FOR  HEAVY  HOGS. 


A  modification  of  the  above  device  is  shown  in  figure 
228.  A  lever  is  rigged  like  a  well  sweep,  using  a  crotched 
stick  for  the  post,  and  a  strong  pole  for  the  sweep,  a 
white  oak  stick — such  as  every  farmer  who  can  do  so, 
should  have  laid  up  to  season.  The  iron  rod  on  which 
the  sweep  moves  must  be  strong  and  stiff.  A  trace  chain 
is  attached  to  the  upper  end,  and  if  the  end  of  the  chain 


188 


FARM  AIPLIAKOFS. 


has  a  ring  instead  of  a  hook,  it  will  be  quite  convenient. 
In  use,  a  table  is  improvised,  unless  a  strong  one  for  the 
purpose  is  at  hand,  and  this  is  set  near  the  barrel.  A 
noose  is  made  with  the  chain  about  the  leg  of  the  pig, 


Fig.  227. — SCALDING  CASK  ON  A  SLED. 


and  he  is  soused  in,  going  entirely  under  water,  lifted 
out  when  the  bristles  start  easily,  and  laid  upon  the  table, 
while  another  is  made  ready. 

Figure  229  shows  a  more  permanent  arrangement.  It 
is  a  trough  of  plank,  with  a  sheet  iron  bottom,  which  can 
be  set  over  a  temporary  fire-place  made  in  the  ground. 


The  vat  may  be  six  feet  long,  three  feet  wide,  and  two 
and  one-half  feet  deep,  so  as  to  be  large  enough  for  a 
good-sized  hog.  Three  ropes  are  fastened  on  one  side,  for 
the  purpose  of  rolling  the  hog  over  into  the  vat,  and 


SLAUGHTERING  HOGS  AND  CURING  MEAT. 


18.9 


rolling  it  out  on  the  other  side  when  it  is  scalded.  A 
number  of  slanting  cross-pieces  are  fitted  in,  crossing 
each  other,  so  as  to  form  a  hollow  bed  in  which  the  car¬ 
cass  lies,  with  the  ropes  under  it,  by  which  it  can  be 


Fig.  229, — SCALDING  YAT. 


moved  and  drawn  out.  These  cross-pieces  protect  the 
sheet-iron  bottom,  and  keep  the  carcass  from  resting 
upon  it.  A  large,  narrow  fire-place  is  built  up  in  the 
ground,  with  stoned  sides,  and  the  trough  is  set  over  it. 
A  stove-pipe  is  fitted  atone  end,  and  room  is  made  at  the 
front  by  which  wood  may  be  supplied  to  the  fire,  to  heat 
the  water.  A  sloping  table  is  fitted  at  one  side  for  the 
purpose  of  rolling  up  the  carcass,  when  too  large  to  han¬ 
dle  otherwise,  by  means  of  the  rope  previously  mentioned. 
On  the  other  side  is  a  frame  made  of  hollowed  boards  set 
on  edge,  upon  wdiich  the  hog  is  scraped  and  cleaned. 
The  right  temperature  for  scalding  a  hog  is  one  hundred 
and  eighty  degrees;  and  with  a  thermometer  there  need 
be  no  fear  of  overscalding,  or  a  failure  from  the  lack  of 


sufficient  heat ;  while  the  water  can  be  kept  at  the  right 
temperature  by  regulating  the  fuel  under  the  vat.  If  a 
spot  of  hair  is  obstinate,  cover  it  with  some  of  the  removed 

hair,  and  dip  on  hot  water.  Always  pull  out  hair  and 


190 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


bristles,  shaving  any  off  leaves  unpleasant  stubs  in  the 
skin. 

Gambrels  should  be  provided  of  different  lengths,  if 
the  hogs  vary  much  in  size,  like  figure  230,  or  in  other 
convenient  shapes.  These  should  be  of  hickory  or  other 
tough  wood,  for  safety,  and  to  be  so  small  as  to  require 
little  gashing  of  the  legs  to  receive  them. 


HANGING  AND  CLEANING  THE  HOGS. 

Figure  231  shows  a  very  cheap  and  convenient  device 
for  hanging  either  hogs  or  beeves.  The  device  is  in  shape 
much  like  an  old  fashioned  “  saw-buck, ”  with  the  lower 
rounds  between  the  legs  omitted.  The  legs,  of  which 


Fig.  231. — RAISING  A  SLAUGHTERED  ANIMAL. 


there  are  two  pairs,  should  be  about  ten  feet  long,  and 
set  bracing,  in  the  manner  shown  in  the  engraving.  The 
two  pairs  of  legs  are  held  together  by  an  inch  iron  rod, 
five  or  six  feet  in  length,  provided  with  threads  at  both 


SLAUGHTERING  HOGS  AND  CURING  MEAT. 


191 


ends.  The  whole  is  made  secure  by  means  of  two  pairs 
.of  nuts,  which  fasten  the  legs  to  the  connecting  iron  rod. 
A  straight  and  smooth  wooden  roller  rests  in  the  forks 
made  by  the  crossing  of  the  legs,  and  one  end  projects 
about  sixteen  inches.  In  this  two  auger  holes  are  bored, 
in  which  levers  may  be  inserted  for  turning  the  roller. 
The  rope,  by  means  of  which  the  carcass  is  raised,  passes 
over  the  roller  in  such  a  way  that  in  turning,  by  means 
of  the  levers,  the  animal  is  raised  free  from  the  ground. 
When  sufficiently  elevated,  the  roller  is  fastened  by  one 
of  the  levers  to  the  nearest  leg. 

Skill  and  practice  are  needed  to  take  out  the  intestines 
neatly,  without  cutting  or  breaking  them  and  soiling  the 
flesh.  Run  the  knife  lightly  down,  marking  the  belly 
straight,  cut  to  the  bone  between  the  thighs,  and  in  front 
of  the  ribs  and  below,  and  split  the  rear  bones  with  an 
axe  carefully,  not  to  cut  beyond  them  ;  open  the  abdomen 
by  running  the  hand  or  two  fingers  behind  the  knife  with 
its  edge  turned  outward.  Little  use  of  the  knife  is 
required  to  loosen  the  entrails.  The  fingers,  rightly  used, 
will  do  most  of  the  severing.  Small  strong  strings,  cut 
in  proper  lengths,  should  be  always  at  hand  to  quickly 
tie  the  severed  ends  of  any  small  intestines  cut  or  broken 
by  chance.  An  expert  will  catch  the  entire  offal  in  a 
large  tin  pan  or  wooden  vessel,  holding  it  between  himself 
and  the  hog.  Unskilled  operators,  and  those  opening 
very  large  hogs,  need  an  assistant  to  hold  this.  The 
entrails,  and  then  the  liver,  heart,  etc.,  being  all  removed, 
thoroughly  rinse  out  any  blood  or  filth  that  may  have 
escaped  inside.  Spread  the  cut  edges  apart  by  inserting 
a  short  stick  between  them,  to  admit  free  circulation  of 
cool  air.  When  dripping  is  over,  or  the  hanging  posts 
are  wanted  for  other  carcasses,  remove  the  dressed  ones, 
and  hang  them  in  a  cool  cellar  or  other  safe  place,  until 
the  whole  flesh  is  thoroughly  cooled  through.  Removing 
the  lard  from  the  long  intestines  requires  expertness  that 


192 


FARM  APPLIANCES. 


can  only  be  learned  by  practice.  The  fingers  do  most  of 
this  cleaner,  safer  and  better  than  a  knife.  A  light  feed 
the  night  before  killing  leaves  the  intestines  less  distended 
and  less  likely  to  be  broken. 


PACKING  PORK. 

Pack  closely  in  the  barrel,  first  rubbing  salt  well  into 
all  exposed  ends  of  bones,  and  sprinkle  well  between  each 
layer,  using  no  brine  until  forty-eight  hoars  after,  and 
then  let  the  brine  be  strong  enough  to  bear  an  egg.  After 
six  weeks  take  out  the  hams  and  bacon  and  hang  in  the 
smoke-house.  When  warm  weather  brings  danger  of 
flies,  smoke  a  week  with  hickory  chips,  avoiding  heating 
the  air  much.  If  one  has  a  dark,  close  smoke-house,  as 
the  writer  has,  the  meat  can  hang  in  all  the  summer  ; 
otherwise  pack  in  boxes,  putting  layers  of  swTeet,  dry  hay 
between.  Long  experience  has  convinced  me  that  this 
method  of  packing  is  preferable  to  packing  in  dry  salt  or 
ashes.  Much  lard  is  injured  or  spoiled  by  overheating 
and  burning  some  portions  ;  the  smallest  quantity  scorched 
gives  a  bad  flavor  to  the  whole.  A  bucket  of  water  in 
the  rendering  kettle  prevents  this,  if  the  fire  is  kept  from 
rising  too  high  around  the  sides.  The  water  is  easily 
separated  at  the  bottom,  if  not  slowly  evaporated  off  dur¬ 
ing  the  rendering.  Cutting  the  leaf,  etc.,  fine  with  a 
sharp  hatchet  or  cleaver,  facilitates  the  free  extraction  of 
Hie  lard. 


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